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THE   STATE    CAPITOL. 


The  Story   of  the 
Old    North    State 


BY 


R.  D.  W.  CONNOR 

Secretary  of  the  North   Carolina  Historical   Commission 


WITH  MANY  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA      &      LONDON 
J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT     COMPANY 


6  PREFACE. 

quarters  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  portrait  of  Hugh  Waddell, 
from  their  "Historic  Towns  of  the  Southern  States."  In 
the  selection  of  illustrations  I  have  found  the  Hall  of  His- 
tory at  Raleigh  an  invaluable  aid  and  I  desire  to  acknowl- 
edge the  great  services  rendered  to  the  entire  state  by  the 
director,  Colonel  Fred  A.  Olds,  through  his  patriotic  zeal  in 
founding  and  maintaining  this  interesting  collection  of  his- 
toric relics. 

R.  I).  W.  Connor. 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

i.      Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Great  Plans 


ii.  A  Royal  Gift 

hi.  Rebellions  and  Wars 

iv.  How  the  Colony  Grew 

v.  How  the  People  Lived 

vi.  The  Coming  of  the  Scotch  and  Germans    . 

vii.  Fighting  the  French  and  Indians 

viii.  How  North  Carolina  Used  the  King's  Stam 

ix.  A  Colonial  Rattle 

x.  How  the  War  Regan 

xi.  North  Carolina  Declares  for  Independence 

xii.  The  Hornets'  Nest 

xm.  "A  Crowd  of  Dirty  Mongrels" 

xiv.  How  Independence  was  Won    . 

xv.  A  Daughter  of  North  Carolina 

xvi.  Joining  the  Union 

xvii.  The  Independent  State 

xviii.  Progress      .... 

xix.  Leaving  the  Union 

xx.  The  Last  Great  War 

xxi.  In  the  Union  Again  . 

xxii.  "Since  the  War"   (I) 

xxiii.  "Since  the  War"  (II) 


THE    STORY 


OF 


THE    OLD     NORTH    STATE. 


i. 

SIR  WALTER   RALEIGH'S  GREAT  PLANS. 

Introduction. — Three  hundred  years  ago  no  white  people 
lived  in  this  beautiful  land  which  we  call  North  Carolina. 
It  was  the  home  only  of  red  Indians  and  wild  animals. 
Great  forests  of  giant  trees  covered  most  of  the  land.  The 
rest  was  sandy  plains,  hare  hills,  and  rocky  mountains. 
Here  and  there  were  a  few  mean  huts,  called  "  wigwams," 
made  of  sticks  and  bark  and  mud.  Around  them  were 
little  patches  of  poor  corn  and  tobacco  and  potatoes. 

What  wonderful  changes  we  see  now !  The  forests  have 
been  cut  down  and  where  they  grew  we  have  pretty  towns 
and  busy  cities.  Humming  mills,  beautiful  homes,  fine 
churches,  and  pretty  school-houses  stand  where  once  the 
cheerless  wigwams  stood.  The  sandy  plains  and  bare  hills 
are  now  covered  with  growing  crops.  The  savage  bear  and 
the  cruel  wolf  are  seldom  seen,  and  in  their  places  we  have 
the  gentle  horse  and  the  useful  cow.  All  these  great  changes, 
and  many  more,  have  taken  place  since  white   men  first 


10 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


came  to  this  country.  The  story  of  how  all  this  happened 
is  almost  like  a  fairy  tale,  except  that  it  is  true.  We  call  it 
"The  History  of  North  Carolina.11 

Sir  "Walter  Raleigh's  Plans. —  A  few  years  after  Columbus 
discovered  America,  John  Cabot  sailed  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  North  America  and  claimed  all  that  land  for 
the  king  of  England.  But  many  years  passed  before  any 
Englishmen  thought-of  coming  here  to  live.  The  first  man 
who  planned  to  send  English  settlers  to  America  was  Sir 

Walter  Raleigh,  a  friend  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  He  wanted 
to  build  .up  colonies  in  the 
New  World  that  would  help 
to  make  England  the  greatest 
and  richest  nation  on  earth. 
Queen  Elizabeth  was  pleased 
with  his  plans  and  gladly  gave 
him  permission  to  try  them. 

Voyage  of  Amadas  and 
Barlowe. — The  first  thing  he 
did  was  to  send  some  men  to 
look  at  the  country  and  find  a  good  place  for  a  colony. 
Philip  Amadas  and  Arthur  Barlowe  were  the  captains  of 
this  company.  They  sailed  from  England  April  27,  1584, 
with  two  ships,  and  in  July  landed  on  what  we  now  call 
Roanoke  Island  in  North  Carolina. 

A  Wonderful  Story. — When  they  returned  to  England 
they  had  many  wonderful  stories  to  tell.     They  told  of  the 


SIR    WALTER    RALEIGH. 


*    SIR    WALTER  RALEIGH'S  GREAT  PLANS.  11 


AH    INDIAN    VILLAGE. 

1587. 


12  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

delightful  climate,  the  sweet  flowers,  the  delicious  grapes, 
the  tall  trees,  the  beautiful  birds,  and  the  strange  people. 
What  strange  people  these  Avere,  with  red  skins,  with 
clothes  made  of  the  skins  of  wild  animals,  and  with  wooden 
bows  and  arrows!  They  lived  in  wigwams,  and  their  largest 
towns  did  not  have  more  than  thirty  wigwams  in  them. 

And  what  strange  things  the  Indians  thought  about  the 
white  strangers  !  The  white  men  had  no  women  with  them, 
so  the  Indians  thought  they  were  not  born  like  other  men, 
but  had  come  from  the  sky.  They  thought  the  glasses,  and 
clocks,  and  guns,  and  books,  that  the  strangers  used,  were 
made  by  the  gods,  and  that  the  Englishmen  were  the  favorites 
of  Heaven !  When  the  white  men  tried  to  teach  them  the 
stories  of  the  Bible,  they  fell  down  and  worshipped  the  book 
itself,  kissing  and  praying  to  it.  But  they  were  gentle  and 
kind,  and  the  Englishmen  were  pleased  with  them. 

The  First  Colony. — When  the  people  of  England  heard 
this  strange  story  many  of  them  wanted  to  come  at  once 
to  the  new  country.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  called  it  "Vir- 
ginia "  in  honor  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  "  the  virgin  Queen." 
He  fitted  out  a  colony  of  108  men,  with  Ralph  Lane  as 
governor,  who  arrived  at  Roanoke  Island  in  June,  1585. 
They  built  a  fort  which  they  called  "  Fort  Raleigh."  But 
the  men  were  lazy  and  would  not  work.  Their  food  gave 
out  and  to  save  themselves  from  starving  they  returned 
to  England.  So  the  colony  failed,  but  they  carried  back 
with  them  three  important  things  which  they  found  here. 
They  were  tobacco,  Indian  corn,  and  the  white  potato.     Sir 


SIR   WALTER  RALEIGH'S  GREAT  PLAXS. 


13 


Walter  Raleigh  had  the  potato  planted  in  Ireland,  where  it 
became  so  important  a  food  for  the  Irish  people  that  it  is 
now  called  the  Irish  potato.  The  discovery  of  these  three 
things  was  worth  all  the  trouble  of  the  expedition. 

The  Lost  Colony. — Two  years  later  Ptaleigh  sent  out 
another  colony  of  133  men  and  17  women,  under  Gov- 
ernor John  White.     These  women  were  the  first  English 


^xv?emeoc   -  >  -    . 


THE   COMING  OF   THE   ENGLISH. 
1587. 

women  ever  to  land  in  our  country.  This  colony,  too, 
landed  on  Roanoke  Island.  A  few  days  later  a  little  girl 
was  born  on  this  island.  She  was  the  granddaughter  of 
Governor  White  and  was  the  first  English  child  born  in  the 
New  World.  Her  mother's  name  was  Eleanor  Dare,  and 
she  named  her  little  baby  "  Virginia.'1 

After  a  few  weeks  Governor  White  had  to  go  back  to 


14 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


""3^ 


England  for  more  food.  He  did  not  want  to  go,  but  he  had 
to  do  it,  and  he  expected  to  return  to  Roanoke  Island  in  a 
very  little  while.     But  two  years  passed  before  he  could  get 

away  from  England,  and  when 
he  got  back  to  Roanoke  Island, 
he  found  none  of  the  settlers. 
For  a  long  time  he  sailed  about 
looking  for  them,  but  nowhere 
were  they  to  be  found.  To 
this  day  nobody  knows  what 
became  of  poor  little  Virginia 
Dare  and  the  other  colonists. 

Croatan. — The  only  sign  of 
them  that  Governor  White 
found  was  the  word  "  Croa- 
tan "  carved  in  large  letters  on 
a  tree.  The  colonists  had 
promised  him  that  if  they  left 
the  island  before  his  return 
they  would  leave  some  sign 
showing  where  they  had  gone. 
"  Croatan  "  was  the  name  of  a 
friendly  tribe  of  Indians  who 
lived  a  few  miles  from  Roanoke. 
Governor  White  wanted  to  go 
to  Roanoke  to  search  for  his 
little  granddaughter,  but  the 
captain  of  the  vessel  in  which 


STONE  MARKING  SITE  OF  OLD  EORT  KALEIUII. 


INSCRIPTION. 

On  this  site  in  July-August,   1585    j 
(0.  S.  ),  colonists,  sent  out  from  Eng- 
land by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  built  a 
fort,  called  by  them  "The  New  Fort 
in  Virginia." 

These  colonists  were  the  first  settlers 
of  the  English  race  in  America.  They 
returned  to  England  in  July,  158ii, 
with  Sir  Francis  Drake. 

Near  this  place  was  born,  on  the 
18th  of  August,  1587,  Virginia  Dare, 
the  first  child  of  English  parents  born 
in  America — daughter  of  Ananias 
Dare  and  Eleanor  White,  his  wife, 
members  of  another  band  of  colonists, 
sent  out  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in 
1587. 

On  Sunday,  August  20,  1587,  Vir- 
ginia Dare  was  baptised.  Manteo, 
the  friendly  chief  of  the  Hatteras 
Indians,  had  been  baptised  on  the 
Sunday  preceding.  The  baptisms  are 
the  first  known  celebrations  of  a 
Christian  sacrament  in  the  territory 
of  the  thirteen  original  United  States. 


SIR   WALTER   RALEIGH'S   GREAT  PLANS.  15 

he  sailed  would  not  go.  So  Governor  White  never  knew 
whether  little  Virginia  Dare  was  living  at  Croatan  or  not. 

Many  people  think  that  the  descendants  of  little  Virginia 
Dare  and  the  other  colonists  are  living  to-day  in  North 
Carolina.  They  believe  that  the  colonists  lost  all  hope  of 
ever  again  seeing  their  governor,  or  any  other  white  people, 
and  that  some  of  them  married  Croatan  Indians.  The 
descendants  of  these  Croatan  Indians  live  to-day  in  Robeson 
and  Cumberland  Counties  and  many  of  them  have  the  same 
names  that  some  of  the  colonists  had.  They  claim  to  be 
descendants  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  lost  colonists,  but 
nobody  can  tell  whether  this  claim  is  true  or  not. 

Results  of  Raleigh's  Efforts. — Sir  Walter  Raleigh  now 
had  to  give  up  his  plan.  He  had  failed  with  it,  but  his 
work  did  good.  He  showed  the  English  people  the  im- 
portance of  the  New  World,  and  not  many  years  passed 
before  John  Smith  and  others  took  up  the  work  that  Ra- 
leigh had  begun.  We  ought  not  to  forget  the  name  of  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  for  he  was  a  great  and  good  man;  and 
North  Carolina  has  named  her  capital  city  in  his  honor. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Name  the  rivers  and  sounds  of  eastern 
North  Carolina.  Tell  what  body  of  water  each  river  empties  into. 
What  bodies  of  water  surround  Roanoke  Island  ?  What  is  the  name 
of  the  county  that  the  island  is  in?  Why  do  you  think  it  was  given 
this  name? 

REVIEW. — Tell  in  your  own  words  about — 

1.  North  Carolina  three  hundred  years  ago. 

2.  The  changes  we  see  now. 

3.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  plans. 


16 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


4.  The  first  men  he  sent  here. 

5.  What  they  found. 

6.  The  first  colony,  and  why  it  failed. 

7.  Virginia  Dare. 

8.  The  good  that  came  from  Raleigh's  plans. 


¥  ¥ 


II. 


A  ROYAL   GIFT. 

The   First    Settlers. — Twenty-two  years  after  the  loss  of 
little   Virginia  Dare  a  colony  was  settled  at  Jamestown  in 

Virginia.  This  was  also 
the  real  beginning  of 
North  Carolina,  for  the 
first  settlers  who  came 
to  North  Carolina  to 
stay  came  from  Virginia. 
In  those  days  most  of 
the  travelling  was  done 
by  water  because  there 
were  no  roads  through 
the  new  settlements,  It  was  by  water,  too,  that  the  planters 
carried  their  products  to  market.  Then,  too,  the  bottom- 
lands were  richer  than  the  up-lands.  For  these  reasons 
farms  along  the  banks  of  creeks  and  rivers  and  sounds 
were  most  sought  after,  and  in  those  clays  when  there  was 
land  enough  for  all,  the  settlers  would  have  none  but  the 


INDIANS    COOKING   FISH. 

1587. 


A   ROYAL   GIFT.  17 

best.  It  was  not  many  years  before  the  best  bottom-lands 
around  Jamestown  were  settled  and  new  settlers  began  to 
look  for  such  plantations  elsewhere.  They  found  the  best 
of  these  along  the  shores  of  Albemarle  Sound. 

The  first  of  these  settlers  to  come  into  North  Carolina 
that  we  know  anything  about  was  Roger  Green,  who  came 
about  the  year  1653.  A  few  years  later  George  Durant  and 
others  came,  and  in  a  short  time  several  families  were 
scattered  along  the  shores  of  Albemarle  Sound  and  the 
rivers  that  empty  into  it.  Some  of  Durant's  companions 
were  John  Battle,  Thomas  Relfe,  Roger  Williams,  Thomas 
Jarvis,  John  Harvey  and  John  Jenkins,  and  many  of  their 
descendants  live  in  North  Carolina  to-day. 

George  Durant  spent  two  years  exploring  the  region 
before  he  found  a  place  to  suit  him.  On  March  1,  1661, 
he  bought  a  tract  of  land  from  Kilcocanen,  king  of  the 
Yeopini  Indians.  The  deed  for  this  land,  signed  by  Kil- 
cocanen, is  the  oldest  grant  of  land  in  North  Carolina  of 
which  we  have  a  copy.  Durant's  tract  is  still  known  as 
"  Durant's  Neck."  Other  settlers  followed  these  leaders 
and  in  a  few  years  the  ring  of  the  white  man's  axe  became 
a  familiar  sound  in  the  wild  woods  of  Carolina. 

Grant  to  the  Lords  Proprietors. — At  this  time  Charles 
II.  was  king  of  England.  In  his  kingdom  there  were  eight 
noblemen  whom  he  wished  to  reward  for  help  they  had 
given  him.  So  he  decided  to  give  them  a  large  body  of 
land  in  America.  This  was  a  cheap  way  for  him  to  pay  his 
debts,  for  the  land  cost  him    nothing.     He   had   a   paper 


18  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

written,  called  a  "  charter,"  giving  to  these  noblemen  all  the 
land  in  North  America  between  Florida  and  Virginia,  and 
from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  as  far  westward  as  land  went ;  no- 
body knew  how  far  that  was.  This  territory  was  called 
"Carolina"  *  in  honor  of  the  king;  and  the  noblemen  were 
called  "The  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina."  Power  was 
given  to  them  to  set  up  a  government  in  their  territory  and 
to  send  settlers  to  it.  They  expected  to  sell  or  rent  the 
land  and  hoped  to  make  a  great  deal  of  money  in  this  way.f 
Settlers  on  the  Cape  Fear. — While  George  Durant  was 
looking  for  a  good  place  to  build  his  cabin  on  the  Albe- 
marle, other  settlers  were  seeking  homes  on  the  Cape 
Fear.  The  first  attempt  to  settle  this  region  was  made  in 
1660  by  men  from  New  England.  Their  efforts  were  a 
total  failure  and  they  quickly  abandoned  the  settlement. 
Three  years  passed  before  any  other  white  men  came  to  the 
Cape  Fear.  This  time  they  did  not  come  either  from  New 
England  or  from  Old  England.  Far  away  to  the  South  in 
the  Caribbean  Sea  is  a  little  island  called  Barbados.  It  be- 
longs to  England  and  in  1660  several  hundred  Englishmen 
lived  on  it  who  had  fled  there  during  a  great  civil  war  in 
England.  They  were  not  pleased  with  their  situation  and 
decided  to  seek  homes  elsewhere. 


*From  the  Latin  "  Carolus,"  for  Charles. 

f  They  were:  George  Monk,  Duke  of  Albemarle  ;  Edward  Hyde. 
Earl  of  Clarendon ;  Anthony  Ashley  Cooper  ;  Lord  Craven  ;  Lord 
Berkeley  ;  Sir  William  Berkeley  ;  Sir  George  Carteret ;  and  Sir  John 
Colleton. 


A  ROYAL   GIFT. 


19 


When  they  learned  that  the  king  had  given  Carolina  to 
the  lords  proprietors  they  sent  to  England  to  ask  per- 
mission to  settle  in  that  province.  The  lords  proprietors 
gladly  gave  their  consent.  Two  parties  sailed  from  Bar- 
bados for  the  Cape  Fear,  one  before  they  heard  from  the 
lords  proprietors,  another  afterwards.  The  first  party 
landed  about  twenty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river 


INDIANS  MAKING   A   CANOE. 
1587. 


and  built  a  town  which,  in  honor  of  the  king,  they  called 
Charles  Town.  The  second  party  was  led  by  Sir  John 
Yeamans,  who  had  been  appointed  governor.  The  settle- 
ment was  called  Clarendon  County.  Soon  after  his  arrival 
Sir  John  Yeamans,  like  John  White,  had  to  return  to  Bar- 
bados   for  supplies,  and    like  John  White   never  returned. 


20  THE   OLD   NORTH  STATE. 

After  about  two  years  the  settlers  grew  tired  of  their  situa- 
tion and  abandoned  the  settlement.  Some  sailed  away  to 
Boston,  some  to  Virginia,  and  others  to  the  Albemarle 
colony. 

For  more  than  fifty  years  the  beautiful  Cape  Fear  region 
was  left  to  wild  beasts  and  savage  red  men.  Sixty  years 
later  Sir  John  Yeamans'  grandson,  Colonel  Maurice  Moore, 
made  the  first  permanent  settlement  on  the  Cape  Fear. 

The  Early  Government. — At  first  the  colony  had  a  very 
simple  government.  The  governor  was  selected  by  the 
lords  proprietors.  He  had  twelve  men  to  help  him,  who 
were  called  the  council.  The  laws  for  the  colony  were 
passed  by  the  assembly,  which  was  made  up  of  the  gov- 
ernor, the  council,  and  certain  men  elected  by  the  people 
themselves.  The  first  assembly  met  about  the  year  1664 
and  passed  the  first  laws. 

The  first  governor  was  William  Drummond,  a  good  man 
who  was  appointed  in  1664.  After  Governor  Drummond 
left  North  Carolina  he  went  to  Virginia  and  took  part  in 
Bacon's  rebellion.  This  made  old  Governor  Berkeley 
of  Virginia  furious,  and  when  Drummond  was  captured 
and  carried  before  him,  he  said : 

"  Mr.  Drummond,  you  are  very  welcome.  I  am  more 
glad  to  see  you  than  any  other  man  in  Virginia.  Mr.  Drum- 
mond, you  shall  be  hanged  in  half  an  hour.1'  And  sure 
enough,  the  old  tyrant  had  him  hanged. 

The  Fundamental  Constitutions. — The  people  liked 
their  government  because  they  had  a  voice  in  it.    The  lords 


A   ROYAL   GIFT.  21 

proprietors  did  not  like  it,  for  the  same  reason.  So  they 
had  a  very  learned  man  in  England,  named  John  Locke, 
prepare  another  plan,  which  was  called  by  a  very  big 
name — "The  Fundamental  Constitutions  of  Carolina.1'  This 
plan  took  the  power  away  from  the  people  and  gave  it  to  a 
few  wealthy  men  who  were  made  noblemen.  But  when  the 
lords  proprietors  tried  to  make  the  people  use  this  plan 
they  would  not  do  it.  It  caused  nothing  but  trouble  and 
disorder,  and  after  a  few  years  the  proprietors  were  forced 
to  give  it  up.  The  people  of  North  Carolina  would  have 
no  government  except  one  in  which  they  had  a  voice. 

The  Governors  and  the  People. — Much  trouble  was 
caused  by  the  kind  of  men  the  proprietors  sent  out  to  be  gov- 
ernors. Many  of  them  were  bad  men  "who  cared  nothing  for 
the  people.  They  came  to  the  colony  expecting  to  get  rich, 
and  did  not  care  how  they  did  it.  But  the  people  would  not 
stand  their  evil  ways.  Several  times  they  rose  against  their 
governors  and  drove  them  out  of  the  province  or  imprisoned 
them.  Governor  Spotswood  of  Virginia  said  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  were  so  used  to  turning  out  their  governors 
that  they  thought  they  had  a  right  to  do  so.  This  was  not 
because  the  people  were  disorderly,  but  because  they  loved 
liberty  and  hated  tyranny.  When  they  had  good  governors 
like  Drummond  things  went  well  in  the  province ;  but 
when  bad  men  were  sent  to  govern  them  the  people  did  not 
rest  until  they  got  rid  of  them. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Albemarle  Sound.  Can  you  tell 
why  it  was  so  named  ?     Name  the  rivers  that  flow  into  it.    Find  on  the 


22  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

map  the  counties  of  Craven,   Hyde,   and  Carteret.     Tell  how  they  got 
their  names. 

REVIEW.— Tell  about— 

1.  The  first  settlement  of  North  Carolina. 

2.  How  the  king  paid  his  debts. 

3.  The  settlement  of  the  Cape  Fear. 

4.  How  the  colony  was  governed. 

5.  The  story  of  the  first  governor. 

6.  John  Locke's  plan. 

7.  How  the  governors  were  treated,  and  why. 


¥    ¥ 

III. 
REBELLIONS  AND  WARS. 

Culpepper's  Rebellion. — The  year  1677  was  a  bad  year 
in  North  Carolina.  This  was  caused  by  two  laws  passed  in 
England,  and  by  one  of  the  officers  whom  the  lords  pro- 
prietors sent  to  North  Carolina.  The  laws  required  the 
planters  to  pay  a  tax  on  all  the  tobacco  shipped  out  of  the 
colony,  and  compelled  them  to  do  all  their  trading  with 
English  merchants.  This  was  a  hardship  for  the  planters, 
because  they  had  no  money  to  pay  the  taxes,  and  their  har- 
bors were  too  shallow  for  big  ocean  vessels  which  could 
carry  their  products  to  England. 

These  two  laws  made  the  people  of  Albemarle  very 
angry.  What  right,  they  asked,  had  those  men  away  across 
the  sea  to  break  up  their  trade  with  New  England  and  to 
take  their  money  without  their  consent?     They  said  such 


REBELLIONS  AND    WARS.  23 

laws  were  not  good  laws ;  the  people  had  nothing  to  do 
with  making  them,  and  they  were  not  going  to  obey  them. 

So  when  the  proprietors  sent  Thomas  Miller  to  collect 
the  taxes  and  to  put  a  stop  to  the  trade  with  the  Yankees, 
the  people  told  him  plainly  they  would  resist  him.  But 
he  got  together  some  men  whom  he  armed  with  guns 
and  pistols  and  seized  several  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco 
that  belonged  to  the  planters.  Then  he  tried  to  seize  a  ship 
that  had  come  from  New  England  to  trade,  and  to  imprison 
the  captain.  But  the  people  led  by  George  Durant  and 
John  Culpepper  resisted  him.  Then  Miller  tried  to  arrest 
Durant ;  but  the  people  turned  tables  on  him.  They  seized 
their  guns,  arrested  Miller,  and  locked  him  up  in  a  log 
prison.  But  he  broke  out  of  this  and  fled  to  England.  Then 
the  people  made  one  of  their  own  men  governor,  and  for 
two  years  they  were  not  bothered  by  the  lords  proprietors. 
This  rebellion  is  called  "  Culpepper's  Rebellion,"  after  John 
Culpepper,  one  of  the  leaders. 

Seth  Sothel. — The  lords  proprietors  now  thought  that 
if  one  of  them  came  over  to  be  governor  the  people  would 
obey  him.  So  they  sent  Seth  Sothel,  who  had  bought  the 
share  of  Lord  Clarendon.  But  Sothel  turned  out  to  be  the 
worst  governor  and  the  most  wicked  man  that  ever  ruled 
in  North  Carolina.  He  was  a  drunkard,  a  robber,  and  a 
tyrant.  Finally  the  people  could  stand  him  no  longer; 
they  arrested  him,  tried  him  for  his  crimes,  and  drove  him 
out  of  the  province. 

George  Durant. — The  man  who  led  the  people  in  their 


24  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

rebellion  against  this  tyrant  was  George  Durant.  We  have 
already  learned  how  he  came  from  Virginia  and  settled  on 
the  banks  of  the  Albemarle  Sound.  He  early  became  the 
leader  of  the  little  settlement.  After  he  had  driven  Miller 
out  of  the  province,  during  Culpepper's  Rebellion,  he  con- 
trolled the  government  for  two  years.  These  were  years  of 
peace  and  happiness.  Then  Seth  Sothel  came  and  proved 
to  be  a  tyrant.  He  had  no  respect  for  laws,  nor  for  other 
men's  property,  nor  for  their  liberty.  It  was  George  Durant 
who  led  the  rebellion  against  him,  too,  seized  him,  threw 
him  into  prison,  and  finally  drove  him  out  of  the  colony. 

When  we  come  to  read  about  the  great  Revolution  we 
shall  find  that  George  Durant  fought  against  the  same  kind 
of  tyranny  that  the  leaders  in  that  great  Avar  for  indepen- 
dence rebelled  against.  But  the  colony  was  small  in  Du- 
rante day  and  his  work  did  not  attract  much  attention ; 
still  he  fought  the  battles  of  freedom  and  should  be  remem- 
bered as  a  true  North  Carolina  patriot. 

The  Cary  Rebellion. — For  a  little  while  after  this  the 
people  lived  quietly.  But  it  was  not  long  before  another 
law,  passed  in  England,  caused  trouble  worse  than  the  Cul- 
pepper Rebellion.  This  was  a  law  that  required  all  the 
people  to  take  an  oath  to  obey  the  Princess  Anne  as  queen 
of  England.  Everybody  was  willing  for  her  to  be  queen, 
but  there  were  many  people  in  North  Carolina,  called 
Quakers,  who  thought  it  a  sin  to  take  an  oath.  When  the 
governor  tried  to  make  them  obey  the  law,  they  had  him 
turned  out  and  Thomas  Cary  put  in  his  place.     But  after 


REBELLIONS  AND   WARS.  25 

Cary  got  the  office  he  was  unfaithful  to  his  friends  and  tried 
to  make  them  take  the  oath.  Then  they  turned  him  out 
and  put  in  William  Glover.  But  this  did  not  help  them  any, 
for  Glover,  too,  said  they  must  obey  the  law.  They  were 
now  so  angry  that  they  tried  to  get  rid  of  him  and  put 
in  Cary  again,  but  Glover  would  not  give  up,  and  so  both 
men  claimed  to  be  governor.  This  led  to  a  long  dispute; 
both  sides  took  up  arms,  and  the  colony  was  kept  in  great 
disorder. 

The  lords  proprietors  then  sent  over  a  cousin  of  the 
queen  to  be  governor.  His  name  was  Edward  Hyde. 
Glover  and  his  friends  yielded  to  Hyde,  but  Cary  led  a 
rebellion  against  him.  For  a  long  time  he  and  his  men 
kept  the  colony  in  terror,  but  finally  the  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia sent  some  soldiers  to  help  Governor  Hyde,  and 
Cary  was  beaten.  He  fled  to  England,  and  this  put  an 
end  to  the  rebellion. 

This  rebellion  was  a  bad  thing  for  North  Carolina. 
Crops  were  destroyed,  plantations  ruined,  houses  burned, 
and  many  people  suffered  for  food.  But  worse  than  all 
these  were  the  hatred  and  distrust  that  half  the  people  felt 
for  the  other  half.  We  shah  now  see  how  this  led  to  a 
terrible  thing  in  North  Carolina. 

The  Great  Indian  "War. — It  would  be  pleasant  if  we 
could  leave  out  the  story  that  we  are  now  to  read.  But 
this  cannot  be  done,  for  it  teaches  us  two  good  lessons. 
First,  we  learn  the  evil  that  always  comes  from  quarrels 
and    hatred.      Second,    we    learn    that    the    strong    races 


26  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

of  men  ought  to  treat  the  weaker  races  justly  and 
kindly. 

We  think  of  the  Indians  as  cruel  and  savage,  and  so 
they  were  toward  their  enemies.  But  we  have  learned 
that  the  first  Englishmen  who  came  to  our  land  found 
them  gentle  and  peaceable.  Who  knows  but  that  they 
might  have  remained  so  if  they  had  been  treated  kindly 
and  justly  ?  But  the  white  men  did  not  do  this ;  they 
took  the  Indians'  lands  without  paying  for  them ;  they 
drove  them  away  from  their  hunting-grounds  and  their 
homes ;  they  even  sold  some  of  them  into  slavery. 

All  these  things  made  the  proud  Indians  hate  the 
whites,  and  for  years  they  waited  patiently  for  a  chance 
to  destroy  them.  And  now  when  they  saw  the  whites 
quarrelling  and  fighting  among  themselves,  they  thought 
their  time  had  come.  So  they  planned  to  strike  a  blow 
that  would  destroy  all  their  white  enemies  at  one  time. 
No  longer  gentle  and  peaceful,  they  now  became  cruel 
and  fierce. 

The  leader  in  their  plan  was  Hancock,  chief  of  the  pow- 
erful tribe  of  Tuscaroras.  He  invited  all  the  other  Indians 
to  join  him.  There  was  one  powerful  chief,  named  Tom 
Blunt,  who  remained  the  true  friend  of  the  whites,  but 
nearly  all  the  other  Indians  in  the  province  joined  Hancock. 
There  were  altogether  about  sixteen  hundred  warriors. 

A  Terrible  Morning-. — They  planned  to  attack  the  settlers 
at  sunrise,  September  22,  1711.  Everything  was  done 
so    quietly   and   so    secretly   that   the   white   people   slept 


REBELLIONS  AND    WARS.  27 

peacefully  through  the  night  before  without  dreaming  of 
their  danger.  What  a  terrible  morning  was  coming  to 
them!  As  the  sun  rose  over  the  tree  tops  their  blood 
was  frozen  in  their  veins  at  the  awful  war-whoops  of  the 
savages.  Hundreds  of  them  in  their  hideous  black  and 
red  war  paint  poured  out  of  the  woods  on  all  sides. 
Within  less  than  two  hours  they  had  cruelly  murdered 
more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  people.  They  spared 
nobody — old  men  and  young  babies  fell  beneath  their 
bloody  tomahawks.  For  three  days  the  awful  work  of 
burning  and  slaying  went  on,  until  the  whole  southern 
part  of  the  province  along  the  Pamlico  and  Neuse  rivers 
was  a  scene  of  blood  and  ashes. 

Help  from  South  Carolina. — Governor  Hyde  did  all  that 
could  be  done  to  stop  the  awful  work.  But  so  many  people 
had  been  killed,  so  many  fled  from  the  province,  and  so 
many  of  the  Cary  men  would  not  help  because  they  hated 
Governor  Hyde,  that  he  could  not  get  men  enough  in 
North  Carolina  to  meet  the  Indians.  He  had  to  ask 
Virginia  and  South  Carolina  for  help.  Virginia  sent  none, 
but  South  Carolina  sent  an  army  of  white  men  and  South 
Carolina  Indians  under  command  of  the  brave  Colonel 
John  Barnwell.  After  a  long  march  of  nearly  three  hundred 
miles  through  pathless  forests  they  were  joined  by  the 
few  men  Governor  Hyde  had  raised  in  North  Carolina. 
Then  they  attacked  the  Indians  and  defeated  them  in  two 
great  battles,  one  near  New  Bern  and  the  other  near  where 
Snow  Hill  is  now. 


28  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Later  another  army  under  the  gallant  Colonel  James 
Moore  came  from  South  Carolina.  In  March,  1713,  they 
attacked  the  Indians  in  one  of  their  forts  on  Contentnea 
Creek,  killed  four  hundred  of  them,  and  took  as  many 
more  prisoners.  This  was  one  of  the  hardest  battles  ever 
fought  with  the  Indians.  It  broke  the  power  of  the 
Tuscaroras  and  drove  them  out  of  North  Carolina  for- 
ever. The  other  tribes  were  too  weak  to  keep  up  the 
war  by  themselves  and  were  glad  to  make  peace. 

The  Indians  had  been  severely  punished :  hundreds  of 
them  had  been  killed  in  battle ;  as  many  more  had 
been  sent  into  South  Carolina  and  sold  as  slaves  ;  their  forts 
had  been  destroyed,  and  their  crops  and  wigwams  burned. 
They  were  never  again  strong  enough  to  injure  the  settlers 
in  eastern  North  Carolina. 

North  Carolina  soon  afterwards  returned  the  help 
that  South  Carolina  had  given.  The  Indians  there  made 
war  on  the  whites,  and  North  Carolina  sent  soldiers  to 
help  her  South  Carolina  friends. 

Robbers  of  the  Sea. — After  this  there  was  no  longer  any 
danger  from  the  Indians,  but  other  enemies  just  as  cruel  as 
the  red  men  now  began  to  give  trouble  along  our  coast. 
These  were  pirates,  or  sea-robbers.  Many  thousands  of 
these  daring  men  in  their  fast  ships  sailed  our  southern 
seas  during  the  early  years  of  our  history.  They  captured 
hundreds  of  merchant  vessels,  plundered  their  cargoes  and 
murdered  their  crews.  Sometimes  they  even  captured 
whole  towns  and  villages.     Many  horrible  stories  are  told 


REBELLIONS  AND   WARS.  29 

of  their  cruelty.  When  war  vessels  were  sent  after  them 
they  fled  to  the  sounds  and  creeks  and  rivers  where  the 
waters  were  often  too  shallow  for  the  war-ships  to  follow. 
Pamlico  and  Albemarle  sounds  and  Cape  Fear  River  were 
the  scenes  of  many  of  their  cruel  deeds. 

Blackbeard  the  Terrible. — Two  of  the  most  famous  of 
these  pirates,  who  spent  much  of  their  time  in  our  sounds 
and  rivers,  were  Edward  Teach  and  Stede  Bonnet.  No 
crueller  or  more  reckless  men  ever  trod  the  deck  of  a  ship 
or  sent  a  ship's  crew  to  the  bottom. 


MERCHANT    VESSEL    ATTACKED    BY    A    PIRATE. 


Teach  was  called  "Blackbeard,1'  because  of  the  black 
bushy  whiskers  that  covered  his  face.  He  began  his  career 
of  crime  about  the  year  1716,  and  was  often  in  the  quiet 
waters  of  Pamlico  and  Albemarle  sounds.  Finally  the 
king  offered  to  pardon  all  the  pirates  who  would  sur- 
render and  lead  honest  lives.  Blackbeard  pretended  that  he 
would  do  so  ;  he  was  pardoned,  and  settled  at  Bath.  But 
growing  tired  of  his  quiet  life  in  a  very  short  time,  he  again 


30  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

raised  his  black  flag,  hoisted  his  sails,  and  sailed  away  to 
become  once  more  the  terror  of  the  seas.  But  in  1718 
Governor  Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  sent  Lieutenant  Maynard, 
a  brave  naval  officer,  in  search  of  Blackbeard.  He  found 
the  pirate  in  Ocracoke  Inlet,  and  the  gallant  officer  proved 
more  than  a  match  for  the  desperate  robber.  After  one  of 
the  hottest  sea  fights  in  the  history  of  our  country  Black- 
beard  was  killed  and  his  infamous  crew  captured.  For 
many  years  "  Blackbeard,  the  pirate,1'  was  "a  name  with 
which  mothers  and  nurses  were  wont  to  tame  froward 
children." 

Stede  Bonnet,  the  Pirate  of  the  Cape  Fear. — 'Steele 
Bonnet,  Blackbeard's  companion,  was  an  educated  man,  had 
been  a  major  in  the  English  army,  and  was  wealthy.  Every- 
body thought  well  of  him,  when  suddenly  he  turned  pirate, 
joined  Blackbeard,  and  soon  made  his  name  a  terror  in  the 
South  Atlantic.  After  one  of  his  cruises  in  Delaware  Bay, 
he  returned  to  Cape  Fear  River  to  repair  his  fleet,  and  get 
ready  for  another  expedition  of  plunder  and  rapine.  But 
the  governor  of  South  Carolina,  learning  that  he  was  in  the 
Cape  Fear,  sent  Captain  William  Rhett  to  capture  him. 
Bonnet  fought,  bravely,  but  was  forced  to  surrender.  He 
was  taken  to  Charleston,  and  hanged. 

The  End  of  Piracy. — The  death  of  these  two  leaders 
was  a  great  blow  to  piracy  along  our  coast.  Gradually  the 
government  cleared  our  seas  of  the  robbers,  and  by  1730 
the  coast  of  North  Carolina  was  free  from  them.  For  many 
years  afterward,  by  many  a  village  fireside,  stories  of  great 


HOW  THE  COLONY  GREW.  31 

treasure,  buried  by  the  pirates  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers 
and  sounds,  amused  simple  people  ;  and  many  a  greedy 
spade,  in  the  hours  of  the  night,  searched  the  sand-banks  in 
vain  for  the  gold  of  Blackbeard  and  his  fellow  robbers. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  the  Pamlico  and  Neuse  rivers; 
Ocraeoke    Inlet ;    New  Bern  ;    Snow  Hill  ;    Contentnea   Creek. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  What  were  the  causes  of  Culpepper's  Rebellion? 

2.  Tell  about  the  rebellion. 

3.  Who  was  Seth  Sothel? 

4.  Tell  something  about  George  Durant. 

5.  What  were  the  causes  of  Cary's  Rebellion? 

6.  Tell  the  story  of  it. 

7.  Why  did   the  Indians  make  war  on  the  whites? 

8.  Tell  how  the  Indians  fought. 

9.  How  were  they  beaten? 

10.  What  lessons  does  this  war  teach? 

11.  Tell  the  story  of  Blackbeard  ;  of  Stede  Bonnet. 

¥  ¥ 

IV. 

HOW  THE  COLONY  GREW. 

Slow  Growth  of  North  Carolina. — After  the  Indian  war 
there  was  peace  in  North  Carolina  for  a  long  time.  But  it 
was  several  years  before  the  colony  got  over  the  evils  of 
rebellions  and  wars,  and  its  growth  was  very  slow.  There 
were  several  other  causes  of  this.  The  lords  proprietors 
were  more  interested  in  South  Carolina  than  in  North 
Carolina,  and  did  very  little  to  help  the  latter.  Many  of  the 
governors  whom  they  sent  over  to  this  colony  were  weak 


32  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

men,  and  some  were  bad  men.  They  were  not  able  to  keep 
order  in  the  province,  or  to  protect  the  lives  and  property 
of  peaceful  people.  Many  settlers  who  would  have  liked  to 
come  to  North  Carolina  would  not  do  so.  Then,  too,  the 
kings  of  England  were  sorry  that  King  Charles  had  given 
away  such  a  large  country,  and  they  did  all  they  could  to 
make  the  colonies  of  the  proprietors  failures,  so  the  pro- 
prietors would  be  willing  to  give  up  their  charters. 

Besides  these  things,  the  coast  of  North  Carolina  was 
dangerous  for  ships,  and  there  were  no  deep  harbors.  So 
large  vessels  could  not  come  into  the  ports  of  the  colony, 
and  the  only  way  the  people  had  to  trade  with  Europe  was 
through  the  ports  of  Virginia  and  South  Carolina.  But  in 
those  early  days  Virginia  was  not  as  good  a  neighbor  as  she  is 
to-day,  and  her  assembly  passed  laws  to  keep  North  Caro- 
lina planters  from  shipping  their  tobacco  from  her  ports. 
So  the  planters  had  to  sell  their  products  to  New  England 
traders  and  buy  their  goods  from  them  ;  this  caused  them  to 
have  to  pay  more  for  what  they  bought  and  get  less  for 
what  they  sold  than  the  people  of  the  other  colonies.  For 
many  years  these  things  kept  North  Carolina  from  growing 
very  fast.  Nearly  thirty  years  passed  before  there  were  five 
thousand  people  in  the  province ;  and  over  forty  years  be- 
fore a  town  was  built. 

Colonial  Towns  :  Bath. — Soon  after  Culpepper's  Rebel- 
lion some  settlers  came  down  from  Virginia  and  built  homes 
on  the  banks  of  Pamlico  River.  They  were  not  Englishmen, 
like  the  Albemarle  settlers ;  they  were  Frenchmen  who  had 


HOW  THE  COLONY  GREW. 


33 


been  driven  away  from  their  homes  in  France  because  they 
would  not  worship  God  in  the  same  way  the  French  king- 
did.  We  call  them  Huguenots.  They  were  brave  men 
who  chose  to  live  in  the  wilderness  among  savages  and  wild 
beasts  rather  than  give  up  their  religion.  Other  people  fol- 
lowed them  to  Pamlico,  and  soon  there  were  enough  people 
to  make  a  little  town  which  was  begun  in  1705.  It  was 
called  Bath  and  was  the  first  town  in  North  Carolina.     It 


THE    CHURCH    AT    BATH.      THE    OLDEST    CHURCH    IX    XuRTH    CAROLINA. 


never  became  more  than  a  sleepy  little  village,  yet  it  has  an 

interesting  story.     It  was  the  first  capital  of  the  province, 

and  the  home  of  some  of  the  early  governors.    Other  famous 

men  lived  there,  among  them  the  terrible  pirate  Blackbeard, 

whose  cruel  deeds  have  made  him  famous.     In  this  little 

town,  too,  was  the  first  public  library  in  North  Carolina. 

And  here  stands  the  oldest  church  now  in  the  State. 

Edenton. — A  few  years  later  the  second  town  was  laid 
3 


34  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

off.  This  was  on  Chowan  River,  beautifully  situated  at 
the  head  of  a  little  bay  on  the  upper  end  of  Albemarle 
Sound.  It  was  named  Edenton  in  honor  of  Charles  Eden, 
governor  of  the  colony.  Edenton  was  a  good  place  for 
trade ;  it  soon  outgrew  Bath,  and  was  for  a  long  time  the 
chief  town  in  the  province.  We  shall  hear  more  of  Edenton 
and  its  great  men  before  we  have  finished  this  story. 

New  Bern. — But  just  as  Edenton  outgrew  Bath,  so 
another  town,  younger  than  either,  soon  outgrew  Edenton, 
and  became  the  capital  of  the  province.  The  settlers  of 
this  town  were  brave,  hard-working  Germans  and  Swiss, 
who  were  brought  to  America  by  a  Swiss  gentleman  from 
the  city  of  Bern.  His  name  wTas  Christopher  de  Graffen- 
ried.  These  people  settled  on  a  narrow  strip  of  land  be- 
tween the  Neuse  and  Trent  rivers.  They  called  their  settle- 
ment New  Bern,  in  honor  of  De  Graffenried's  native  city. 
During  the  Indian  war  the  little  settlement  was  nearly 
destroyed.  But  after  the  war  was  over  the  people  went 
to  work  harder  than  ever,  cleared  away  the  ashes  of  their 
burned  huts,  built  new  ones,  and  soon  became  a  busy, 
happy  little  settlement.  New  Bern  was  made  into  a  town, 
and  in  a  few  years  came  to  be  the  chief  town  in  the 
province.     To-day  New  Bern  is  a  pretty,  busy  little  city. 

Thomas  Pollock. — New  Bern  was  built  on  lands  belong- 
ing to  Colonel  Thomas  Pollock,  and  the  town  was  laid  off 
by  him.  For  many  years  he  was  the  leading  man  in  the 
province.  He  came  to  North  Carolina  from  Scotland,  and 
had   not  been   here    long   before  he    had    to    oppose    the 


HOW  THE  COL  OX  Y  GREW. 


35 


tyranny  of  Seth  Sothel.  The  tyrant  flew  into  a  rage  and 
threw 'Pollock  into  prison.  After  his  release  he  helped  to 
build  St.  Paul's  church  at  Edenton,  the  first  church  in  the 
province,  and  for  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  vestry. 
During  the  Gary  Rebellion  he  did  more  than  any  other 
man  to  help  Governor  Hyde,   and  after  Governor  Hyde's 


A    COLONIAL    CHURCH. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Edenton.     Begun  1736, 


death  he  was  made  president  of  the  council  and  acted  as 
governor.  He  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  the  best  gov- 
ernors during  our  colonial  history.  He  found  the  people 
divided  and  distrusting  each  other,  but  he  united  them  and 
made  them  forget  their  quarrels.  "Thanks  be  to  God  we 
have  no  disturbance  among  us,"  wrote  a  clergyman  from 


36  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Edenton,  "but  all  people's  hearts  unite  and  every  member 
of  the  government  is  as  happy  as  the  times  will  admit  of 
under  the  wise  and  prudent  administration  of  our  good 
president.1'  It  was  Pollock  who  made  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  King  Blunt  which  perhaps  saved  the  province  during 
the  terrible  Indian  war.  When  there  was  no  money  to  pay 
soldiers  and  buy  food  and  clothing,  he  used  his  own  money. 
He  used  his  own  money,  too,  to  help  De  Graffenried  to 
settle  his  Swiss  and  Germans  at  New  Bern. 

Wilmington. — Not  many  years  later  another  town  wras 
laid  off  that  became  the  largest  town  in  North  Carolina. 
We  have  seen  that  little  by  little  settlers  pushed  farther  and 
farther  southward.  First  they  built  homes  on  the  Al- 
bemarle ;  then  on  the  Pamlico  ;  and  then  on  the  Neuse. 
Now  the  ring  of  their  axes  began  to  break  the  long  silence 
of. the  Cape  Fear.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  man  who 
led  settlers  to  the  Cape  Fear  was  a  brother  of  the  brave 
Colonel  Moore  who  had  saved  North  Carolina  from  the 
Indians.  His  name  was  Maurice  Moore,  and  it  was  he  whom 
North  Carolina  sent  to  South  Carolina  to  help  that  colony 
against  the  Indians.  It  was  perhaps  while  he  was  fighting 
these  Indians  that  he  noticed  what  rich  rice  lands  lay  along 
the  Cape  Fear.  In  1725  he  bought  several  hundred  acres 
there  and  settled  on  them.  A  number  of  his  friends  fol- 
lowed him,  and  the  same  year  he  laid  off  three  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  for  a  town. 
He  called  the  town  Brunswick.  If  we  look  on  the  map 
of    North   Carolina   to-day  we   shall  not   find  Brunswick. 


HOW  THE  COLONY  GREW.  37 

The  reason  is  that  six  years  after  it  was  laid  off  another 
town  was  begun  sixteen  miles  farther  up  the  river,  and 
grew  so  much  faster  that  Brunswick  fell  behind  and  finally 
was  deserted.  The  name  of  the  new  town  was  Newton ; 
but  in  1739  it  was  changed  to  Wilmington. 

An  Old  Quarrel  Settled. — Soon  after  Maurice  Moore 
moved  to  the  Cape  Fear  an  important  event  happened  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  colony.  For  many  years  there  had 
been  a  dispute  between  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  about 
the  boundary  line  between  the  two  colonies,  and  sometimes 
it  almost  led  to  blows.  Finally  each  colony  appointed  men  to 
settle  on  a  line.  These  men  were  called  "  commissioners." 
They  had  a  hard  task,  for  they  had  to  cut  through  dense 
forests  and  wade  through  swamps  and  across  broad  rivers. 
There  were  many  disputes,  too,  between  the  Virginia  com- 
missioners and  the  North  Carolina  commissioners  about 
where  the  line  ought  to  run.  But  after  many  weeks  of  hard 
work  the  task  was  finished,  and  the  quarrels  between  the 
two  colonies  about  the  line  ceased. 

Edward  Moseley. — The  leading  commissioner  for  North 
Carolina  in  this  work  was  Edward  Moseley.  Since  1705  he 
had  been  the  leader  of  the  people  in  their  disputes  with  the 
governors.  In  the  Cary  Rebellion  he  took  the  side  of 
Gary  against  Hyde  and  Pollock.  He  opposed  Governor 
Eden  because  Eden  would  not  protect  the  people  from  the 
robberies  of  the  pirate,  BlackbearcL  The  people  elected 
him  many  times  to  the  assembly,  and  the  assembly  gener- 
ally elected  him  speaker.     He  was  treasurer  and  chief  jus- 


38  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

tice  of  the  colony.  He  was  commissioner  to  run  the 
boundary  line  not  only  between  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina, but  also  between  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina. 
When  the  first  church  was  begun  in  North  Carolina  in  1701 
he  gave  more  towards  building  it  than  any  other  man  ex- 
cept his  great  rival,  Colonel  Pollock.  He  was  opposed  to 
the  law  making  all  the  people  pay  taxes  to  support  the 
church  whether  they  were  members  or  not.  He  loved 
books  and  had,  perhaps,  the  largest  library  in  the  province, 
and  when  he  died  he  left  his  books  for  a  public  library  at 
Edenton.  He  did  many  other  services  for  the  people  and 
they  regarded  him  as  their  great  champion. 

North  Carolina  Becomes  a  Royal  Province. — Three 
years  after  Maurice  Moore  moved  to  the  Cape  Fear,  the 
lords  proprietors  gave  up  their  claim  to  North  Carolina. 
They  had  not  made  the  money  out  of  it  that  they  expected ; 
about  all  that  it  had  brought  to  them  was  worry  and 
trouble.  But  King  George  II.,  as  we  have  learned,  was 
anxious  to  get  back  the  territory  that  King  Charles  II.  had 
given  away.  He  wanted  to  buy  it,  and  the  proprietors 
wanted  to  sell  it,  and  this  is  what  they  did  in  the  year 
1728.  After  this  North  Carolina  belonged  to  the  king  and 
was  a  royal  province. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Where  is  Pamlico  River?  What  sound 
does  it  flow  into?  Find  Bath  ;  Chowan  River  ;  Edenton  ;  Neuse  and 
Trent  rivers  ;  New  Bern  ;  Cape  Fear  River  ;  Wilmington. 

REVIEW.— 

1.     What  were  the  causes  of  North  Carolina's  slow  growth? 


HOW  THE  PEOPLE  LIVED.  39 

2.  Tell  the  story  of 

Bath, 
Edenton, 
New  Bern, 
Wilmington. 

3.  How  did  North  Carolina  become  a  royal  province  ? 

4.  Tell  the  story  of 

Thomas  Pollock, 

How  an  old  quarrel  was  ended, 

Edward  Moseley. 


¥    ¥ 


HOW  THE  PEOPLE  LIVED. 

Roads  and  Travel. — During  the  early  days  of  the  col- 
ony the  people  lived  very  simply  and  had  few  comforts. 
When  the  proprietors  sold  the  province  to  the  king  there 
were  in  it  about  thirty-six  thousand  settlers,  thirty  thou- 
sand of  whom  were  white,  the  rest  negro  slaves.  They 
lived  far  apart  up  and  down  the  shores  of  rivers  and 
sounds,  and  saw  very  little  of  each  other.  The  roads 
were  so  rough  and  dangerous  that  the  people  travelled 
as  little  as  possible.  Most  of  the  travelling  was  done  in 
boats.  Every  planter  owned  his  own  canoes  and  sail- 
boats and  had  his  own  private  wharves,  just  as  farmers 
now  have  their  wagons  and  carriages  and  stables. 

Trade. — Their  trading  was  done  chiefly  with  New  Eng- 
land traders,  who  brought  their  small  boats  to  the  doors 


40  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

of  the  settlers.  An  honest  Yankee  trader  was  always 
welcome,  for  he  brought  goods  to  sell  that  the  planters 
needed.  Then,  too,  he  was  sure  to  know  the  news 
and  to  have  lots  of  good  stories  to  tell.  What  a  treat 
it  was  to  the  lonely  settlers  in  the  back  woods,  on  cold 
winter  nights,  to  draw  up  their  stools  around  the  big 
open  fireplaces  before  a  great  roaring  fire,  and  to  roast 
apples  and  pop  corn  while  they  listened  to  the  Yankee 
trader  tell  tales  about  the  funny  customs  of  the  New 
England  Puritans,  or  about  his  own  wild  adventures  at 
sea!  These  traders  would  sail  from  plantation  to  plan- 
tation, loading  their  vessels  with  skins,  salt  pork  and  salt 
beef,  tallow,  staves,  naval  stores,  lumber,  tobacco,  rice, 
and  such  other  things  as  the  planters  produced,  and  then 
sail  away  to  the  West  Indies  or  to  New  England. 

The  Settlers  at  Home. — Most  of  the  early  houses  were 
built  of  rough  logs  covered  with  slabs  and  had  only  one 
room.  Wooden  pins  were  used  in  place  of  iron  nails. 
The  hinges  and  locks,  too,  were  made  of  wood;  indeed, 
many  houses  were  built  without  nails  or  other  iron  work. 
A  rude  three-legged  table,  two  or  three  stools,  a  pallet 
or  two,  a  skillet,  a  frying-pan,  and  a  few  tin  cups,  were 
about  all  the  furniture  that  most  of  these  first  settlers 
had  in  their  homes. 

But  there  were,  of  course,  wealthier  planters  who  lived 
better  than  this.  Their  houses  were  larger  and  more 
comfortable.  Some  of  them  were  made  of  brick,  though 
most  were  of  hewn  logs.     They  were  generally  built  on  a 


HOW  THE  PEOPLE  LIVED.  41 

river  bank,  in  the  centre  of  a  large  grove  of  fine  oaks, 
at  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile  from  the  cabins  of  the 
slaves  and  other  servants.  The  master's  house  was  called 
the  "  Manor  House,"  or  the  "  Big  House."  These  houses 
had  several  rooms,  a  cellar,  and  a  garret.  The  furniture 
was  good,  and  was  generally  brought  from  England. 
There  were  a  few  pieces  of  silver  and  a  few  books.  On 
one  side  of  the  room  was  a  great  fireplace,  sometimes 
eight  feet  wide  and  four  feet  high.  Across  the  chimney 
ran  a  heavy  iron  bar  on  which  pots  were  hung.  In 
winter  great  logs  of  pine  and  oak  were  rolled  in,  and  the 
older  members  of  the  family  drew  up  in  front  of  a  great 
roaring  fire  to  talk  or  read  or  nod,  while  the  children 
romped  and  played  about  the  room  without  being  both- 
ered to  study  lessons  for  school  the  next  day. 

Education. — There  were  no  schools  in  the  province. 
The  planters  themselves  were  well  educated,  and  they 
had  their  children  taught  at  home  or  sent  to  school  in 
Virginia  or  in  England.  But  they  did  not  believe  in 
public  schools  or  in  educating  the  poorer  people,  who 
were  generally  very  ignorant.  The  first  North  Carolina 
school  teacher  that  we  know  anything  about  was  Charles 
Griffin,  who  came  some  time  about  the  year  1705.  Though 
the  rich  planters  did  not  believe  in  educating  the  poorer 
people,  they  were  very  kind  to  them  in  other  ways ;  they 
settled  their  disputes  for  them,  gave  them  medicine  when 
they  were  sick,  and  helped  them  when  they  were  in  trouble. 
There  was  good  feeling  between  them  and  the  planters. 


42  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Religion. — Most  of  the  wealthy  planters  belonged  to  the 
Church  of  England,  or  what  we  now  call  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Everybody,  whether  a  member  of  this  church  or 
not,  was  required  to  pay  taxes  to  support  it.  The  first 
church  built  in  North  Carolina  was  begun  in  1701,  but  was 
not  finished  until  1705.  This  was  at  "Queen  Anne's 
Creek,'1  where  Edenton  was  afterwards  built.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  people  were  not  members  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  it  was  not  right  to  make  them  pay  taxes  to 
support  it. 

A  Colonial  Plantation. — A  man's  wealth  was  counted 
by  the  amount  of  land  and  the  number  of  slaves  that  he 
owned.  Thomas  Pollock  owned  fifty-five  thousand  acres 
of  land,  and  Maurice  Moore  and  his  brother  Roger  each 
owned  fifty  thousand  acres.  Roger  Moore  was  master  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  slaves.  The  slaves  had  such  names 
as  Tomboy,  Mingo,  Venus,  and  Caesar.  There  were  many 
planters  who  owned  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand  acres 
of  land,  but  of  course  most  of  the  plantations  were  smaller 
than  this.  Every  plantation  had  a  name,  such  as  Orton, 
Rosefield,  and  Ashwood.  The  chief  crop  was  tobacco, 
though  large  quantities  of  wheat  and  corn  and  rice  were 
also  raised.  When  the  slaves  were  not  at  work  on  the 
crops,  they  made  tar  and  turpentine,  or  cleared  new 
grounds.  Every  plantation  of  much  size  had  its  own  black- 
smith shop  and  blacksmith,  its  carpenter,  its  tannery,  its 
shoemaker,  its  spinning  wheels  and  looms.  All  the  clothes 
worn   by  the  slaves   and   other  servants   were   made   on 


HOW  THE  PEOPLE  LIVED. 


43 


the  plantation,  but  those  worn  by  the  master  and  his  family 
were  generally  brought  from  England.  There  were  no  mills 
or  factories.  More  than  fifty  years  passed  before  a  water 
mill  was  built,  and  many  more  before  there  were  any  saw- 
mills. This  was  very  strange,  for  there  were  plenty  of 
streams.  The  wealthier  planters  had  rude  hand  mills  in 
which  their  slave  women  ground  the  wheat  and  corn  ;    but 


OBTON  :      A   COLONIAL    RESIDENCE    ON   THE   CAPE   FEAR. 


the  poorer  people  used  rough  stones  on  which  they  beat 
their  grain  into  meal  with  pestles. 

The  settlers  who  owned  no  slaves  raised  hogs  and  horses 
and  cattle.  Thousands  of  hogs  ran  wild  through  the  woods, 
fattening  on  roots,  berries,  acorns,  and  wild  fruit.  Every  year 
great  droves  of  them  were  driven  into  Virginia  and  sold.  It 
cost  very  little  to  raise  them,  and  "  hog  and  hominy"  became 
the  chief  food  of  most  of  the  people.     Hundreds  of  horses 


44  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

and  cattle  were  also  raised  in  the  same  way.  Each  man 
had  a  certain  mark  by  which  he  could  tell  his  from  his 
neighbor's.  If  any  man  changed  another's  mark  he  had 
to  pay  a  heavy  fine  and  was  given  "forty  lashes  on  his  bare 
back  well  laid  on."  If  he  did  it  a  second  time,  he  had  to 
stand  in  pillory  and  had  the  letter  T,  which  stood  for  thief, 
burned  into  his  left  hand  with  a  red-hot  iron.* 

The  Lesson  the  People  Learned. — The  settlers  spent 
most  of  their  time  out  of  doors.  They  liked  to  hunt  and 
fish,  and  did  not  mind  work.  This  kind  of  life  made  them 
strong  and  healthy  and  happy ;  it  taught  them  to  love 
liberty  and  to  hate  tyranny ;  and  it  showed  them  that  they 
could  govern  themselves  better  than  anybody  else  could  do 
it  for  them.  This  was  a  great  lesson,  and  we  shall  soon 
learn  how  they  put  it  into  practice. 

REVIEW.— Tell  in  your  own  words— 

1.  How  the  people  travelled. 

2.  How  they  traded. 

3.  The  kind  of  houses  they  built. 

4.  About  education  in  the  colony. 

5.  About  the  first  church. 

6.  Describe  a  colonial  plantation. 

7.  What  effect  did  the  outdoor  life  of  the  people  have  on   them? 


*An  interesting  account  of  life  during  this  period  is  found  in  "Notes 
on  Colonial  North  Carolina,  1700-1750,"  by  J.  Bryan  Grimes,  pub- 
lished by  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Commission,  October,  1905.  I 
have  used  this  pamphlet  freely. 


COMING  OF  THE  SCOTCH  AND   GERMANS.  45 

VI. 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  SCOTCH  AND  GERMANS. 

What  the  People  Thought  about  the  King. — The 
people  heard  with  joy  that  North  Carolina  had  become  a 
royal  province.  Now,  they  thought,  we  shall  have  no 
more  trouble  with  a  lot  of  greedy  proprietors  who  care 
more  for  their  pocketbooks  than  they  do  for  our  happi- 
ness. The  king  will  be  like  a  father ;  he  will  treat  us 
as  his  children  ;  he  will  use  his  great  power  to  protect 
us  from  danger ;  there  will  be  no  more  disorder ;  our 
colony  will  grow  and  we  shall  become  wealthy  and  happy. 

Improvements  in  the  King's  Colony. — The  colony  did 
improve  greatly  under  royal  rule.  Better  roads  were 
laid  off;  trade  increased;  farms  were  improved;  many  of 
the  planters  became  wealthy ;  they  built  better  houses, 
had  better  furniture,  travelled  _  more,  and  saw  more  of 
each  other. 

The  First  Printing-Press. — In  the  year  17-49  James 
Davis  brought  the  first  printing-press  to  the  province  and 
set  it  up  at  New  Bern.  Three  years  later,  1752,  he 
printed  the  first  book  ever  printed  in  North  Carolina. 
It  was  a  collection  of  the  laws  and  was  called  i4  The 
Yellow  Jacket, "'  because  of  the  color  of  its  covers.  Davis 
also  printed  the  first  North  Carolina  newspaper,  in  the 
year  1764,  at  New  Bern.  He  called  it  '-The  North  Caro- 
lina Magazine  and  Universal  Intelligencer.'"  During  the 
same  year  Andrew  Stewart  of  Wilmington  started  another 


46  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

paper,  called  uThe  North  Carolina  Gazette  and  Weekly 
Post  Boy."  These  two  were  followed  in  1767  by  "The 
Cape  Fear  Mercury,1'  printed  at  Wilmington  by  Adam 
Boyd.  During  this  period  routes  were  also  laid  out  for 
carrying  the  mail  through  the  province.  All  these  things 
made  North  Carolina  more  attractive  for  settlers,  and 
thousands  of   them  came. 

Westward  Growth. — When  the  king  bought  the  charter 
from  the  lords  proprietors  there  were  only  36,000  people 
in  North  Carolina,  and  not  a  single  county  west  of 
Cape  Fear  River.  In  1775  the  number  of  people  had 
increased  to  nearly  300,000,  twenty-three  new  counties 
had  been  added,  and  Daniel  Boone  and  other  brave  pio- 
neers had  even  pushed  across  the  mountains.  The  towns 
of  Halifax,  Cross  Creek,*  Salisbury,  Hillsboro,  Salem,  and 
Charlotte  had  been  laid  off.  Many  of  these  settlers  came 
one  by  one  and  family  by  family ;  while  thousands  came 
in  large  companies  united  by  religious  and  national  ties. 
We  must  learn  the  stories  of  some  of  these. 

The  Coming  of  the  Highlanders. — Among  the  moun- 
tains of  Scotland  live  a  race  of  men  noted  for  their 
strength,  activity,  and  courage.  They  are  called  Scotch 
Highlanders.  As  early  as  1739  a  few  families  of  these 
Highlanders  had  built  homes  along  the  banks  of  Cape 
Fear  River,  above  Wilmington.  There  were. many  things 
to  make  them    happy  and  contented  in  their  new  homes, 

*Now  Favetteville. 


COMING   OF  THE  SCOTCH  AND   GERMANS.  47 

and  they  wished  for  more  of  their  friends  in  Scotland  to 
come  and  join  them. 

So  about  the  year  1739  one  of  these  settlers,  Neil 
McNeil,  returned  to  Scotland  to  persuade  others  to  come 
to  North  Carolina.  He  told  them  that  in  North  Caro- 
lina land  was  plentiful ;  the  soil  rich  ;  the  climate  good  ; 
and  the  people  free.  In  Scotland  none  of  these  things 
were  true,  so  McNeil  found  three  hundred  and  fifty  High- 
landers who  were  willing  to  come  with  him  to  North 
Carolina. 

A  few  years  later  war  broke  out  between  the  High- 
landers and  the  English  in  which  the  Highlanders  were 
terribly  defeated.  Many  of  them  were  cruelly  murdered, 
their  homes  burned,  and  their  country  laid  in  ruins. 
Their  situation  in  Scotland  was  so  bad,  and  the  news 
from  their  friends  in  North  Carolina  so  good,  that  many 
of  them  turned  their  faces  toward  the  setting  sun.. 
Hundreds  of  these  homeless  Highlanders  joined  their 
kinsmen  in  North  Carolina.  Here  they  found  plenty  and 
comfort,  if  not  luxury  and  wealth.  But  many  of  them 
found  wealth  also  beyond  anything  they  had  known  in 
the  Highlands,  and  nearly  all  of  them  became  the  owners 
of  little  farms  and  cabins. 

Flora  MacDonald. — One  of  the  Highlanders  who  settled 
near  Cross  Creek  was  the  beautiful  Flora  MacDonald. 
During  the  wars  between  the  English  and  the  Highlanders 
in  Scotland  the  leader  of  the  Highlanders,  Prince  Charles 
Stuart,  was  defeated  and  had  to  fly  for  his  life.     He  would 


48 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


have  been  captured  and  put  to  death  but  for  a  brave  High- 
land girl,  who  risked  her  own  life  to  save  his.  By  her  help 
he  escaped  and  fled  to  France.  This  girl  was  Flora  Mac- 
Donald.  For  the  help  she  gave  the  prince  she  was  arrested 
and  thrown  into  prison  at  London.  There  she  was  taken 
before  the  king  of  England,  who  asked  her  in  a  stern  voice 
how  she  dared  help  his  enemy.  Looking  him  straight  in 
the  eyes,  Flora  replied  fearlessly  : 

"  I  did  no  more  for  him,  sire,  than 
I  would  do  for  you  if  you  should 
ever  need  my  help." 

This  brave  answer  so  pleased  the 
king  that  he  ordered  her  to  be  set 
at  liberty.  Flora  now  became  the 
most  popular  lady  in  the  Highlands 
of  Scotland,  but  she  and  her  husband, 
Allen  MacDonald,  were  so  poor  that 
they  decided  to  seek  their  fortune  in 
North  Carolina. 
There  was  great  rejoicing  among  the  Highlanders  here 
when  they  arrived,  for  they  were  proud  of  their  famous 
countrywoman.  She  and  her  husband  lived  at  Cross  Creek 
until  Allen  bought  a  farm  at  a  place  called  Mount  Pleasant, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Cross  Creek.  There  they  lived 
happily  until  the  Revolution  broke  out.  Flora  remembered 
her  promise  to  help  the  king  if  he  should  need  her  and  she 
took  his  side  in  the  cmarrel  with  the  colonies.  After  the 
Highlanders    were    beaten   at    Moore's    Creek    Bridge    in 


FLORA    MACDONALD. 


COMING    OF  THE  SCOTCH  AND   GERMANS.  49 

February,  1776,  she  returned  to  Scotland.  She  chose  the 
king's  side  because  she  thought  he  was  right.  On  that  side 
she  was  brave  and  true  and  loyal,  and  that  is  why  her 
memory  is  still  reverenced  in  North  Carolina. 

Cross  Creek. — The  centre  of  the  settlement  of  the  High- 
landers was  a  little  village  on  the  Cape  Fear  called  Campbell- 
ton.  Later  the  name  was  changed  to  Cross  Creek,  and  after 
the  Revolution  to  Fayetteville.  Its  water  route  to  Wilming- 
ton made  it  an  important  trading-point.  Roads  led  to  it 
from  the  central  part  of  the  province,  and  by  the  year 
1775  Cross  Creek  had  become  the  chief  shipping-point 
for  the  country  around  Salem,  Salisbury,  Hillsboro,  and 
Charlotte.  The  Highlanders'  settlement  covered  a  large  ter- 
ritorv,*  and  was  among  the  most  important  in  the  province. 
Many  of  those  who  read  this  story  are  great-great-grand- 
children of  some  of  those  fine  old  Scotchmen. 
•  The  Liberty-Loving-  Scotch-Irish. — The  country  just 
to  the  west  of  the  Highlanders'  settlement  in  North  Caro- 
lina was  also  settled  by  Scotch  people.  But  they  did  not 
come  to  North  Carolina  directly  from  Scotland.  For  many 
years  they  and  their  forefathers  had  lived  in  the  northern 
part  of  Ireland,  and  for  this  reason  they  are  called  Scotch- 
Irish.  They  were  not  satisfied  with  their  homes  in  Ireland 
because  the  English  government  passed  laws  that  destroyed 
their  trade  and  closed  the  doors  of  their  churches.     Most 

*This  territory    is  chiefly  covered  by  the  present  counties  of  Anson, 
Bladen,   Cumberland,  Harnett,  Moore,  Richmond,   Robeson,   Sampson, 
and  Scotland. 
4 


50  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

of  the  Scotch-Irish  were  Presbyterians,  and  yet  they  had  to 
pay  taxes  to  support  the  Church  of  England.  So  about 
the  year  1725  they  began  to  come  to  America  to  find 
liberty. 

The  Search  for  Freedom. — The  governor  and  assembly 
of  North  Carolina  did  all  they  could  to  get  them  to  come 
to  this  province.  Family  after  family  and  colony  after 
colony  swarmed  into  western  North  Carolina  from  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia.  Piling  their  furniture  on  wagons, 
with  the  women  and  children  on  top,  while  the  men 
walked  or  rode  horseback,  they  followed  the  rivers  and 
valleys  until  they  found  land  that  suited  them  and  then 
they  pitched  their  tents  and  began  their  log  cabins. 
During  the  winter  of  1765  more  than  a  thousand  of  their 
wagons  passed  through  the  little  village  of  Salisbury. 
Others  of  the  Scotch-Irish  landing  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  moved  westward  until  they  joined  their  kinsmen 
on  the  borders  of  North  Carolina.  Before  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolution  the  Scotch-Irish  had  scattered  all  through 
the  hills  and  valleys  and  along  the  river  banks  of  central 
North  Carolina.  Their  largest  settlement  was  in  Mecklen- 
burg county,  where  in  the  year  1768  they  laid  off  a  little 
town  which  they  called  Charlotte.  To-day  Charlotte  is  one 
of  the  finest  cities  in  the  State.* 

The  German  Settlers. — A  traveller  through  some  parts 

*  The  Scotch-Irish  settlements  covered  the  present  counties  of 
Guilford,  Orange,  Alamance,  Caswell,  Rowan,  Iredell,  Cabarrus, 
Lincoln,   Gaston,   and  Mecklenburg. 


COMING   OF  THE  SCOTCH  AND   GERMANS.  51 

of  central  North  Carolina  in  the  year  1775  might  easily 
have  imagined  himself  in  Germany.  He  would  have  met 
hundreds  of  people  speaking  the  German  language  without 
knowing  a  word  of  English,  and  living  like  the  people  of 
Germany.  Where  did  they  come  from,  and  what  were 
they  doing  in  North  Carolina  ?  Like  the  Scotch-Irish,  many 
of  them  left  their  native  land  to  seek  homes  where  they  could 
worship  God  as  they  pleased.  Some  of  them  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  Church  ;  some,  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church ;  and  others  were  Moravians. 

The  first  Germans  came  to  North  Carolina  about  the 
year  1747.  They  were  thrifty,  hard-working,  intelligent, 
and  religious.  As  soon  as  they  had  built  their  little  huts 
and  cleared  their  farms,  they  built  school-houses  and 
churches,  and  soon  had  grown  to  a  number  of  strong, 
happy,  and  industrious  settlements. 

The  Beginning  of  "Wachovia. — The  other  Germans 
came  from  the  German  province  of  Moravia,  and  they  were 
called  Moravians.  In  1751  they  bought  100,000  acres  of 
land  in  North  Carolina,  which  they  called  Wachovia,*  and 
two  years  later  began  their  first  settlement.  Three  towns 
were  laid  off:  one  in  1753  called  Bethabara  ;  a  second 
in  1759  called  Bethania ;  and  a  third  in  1766  called  Salem. 
Salem  has  grown  into  one  of  the  prettiest  and  busiest  little 
cities  in  North  Carolina.  Many  years  later  another  town 
was  begun-so  close  to  it  that  they  are  separated  only  by  a 

*"Wach,"   a  stream,   and   "  aue, "  a  meadow. 


52  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

single  street.     It  was  named  Winston,  and  the  two  together 
are  often  called  "The  Twin  Cities." 

During  the  French  and  Indian  War  the  little  settlement 
suffered  greatly  from  the  Indians.  A  fort  was  built  at 
Bethabara,  and  many  people  from  far  and  near  fled  there 
for  safety.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  skill  and  bravery 
of  the  Moravians,  nearly  all  of  that  part  of  the  province 
would  have  been  laid  in  ruins. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Halifax  ;  Fayetteville  ;  Salisbury  ; 
Hillsboro  ;  Salem  ;  Charlotte  ;  Charleston  (S.  C.)  ;  the  counties  settled 
by  the  Highlanders  ;  by  the  Scotch-Irish.  What  rivers  flow  from 
North  Carolina  through  South  Carolina?  Trace  them,  naming  the 
counties  in  North  Carolina  that  they  flow  through. 

REVIEW.— Let  the  pupil  tell— 

1.  What  the  people  thought  about  the  king. 

2.  How  the  colony  improved  under  royal  rule. 

3.  About  colonial  newspapers  in  North  Carolina. 

4.  About  the  westward  growth  of  the  colony. 

5.  The  story  of  the  Scotch  Highlanders. 

6.  The  story  of  Flora  MacDonald. 

7.  About  Cross  Creek. 

8.  Why  the  Scotch-Irish  came  to  North  Carolina. 

9.  About  their  settlements. 

10.     The  story  of  the  Germans  ;  of  Wachovia. 

¥  ¥ 

VII. 

FIGHTING  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS. 

A  Bold  Demand  and  a  Stubborn  Refusal.— The  same 
year  the  Moravians  settled  Bethabara,  young  George  Wash- 
ington set   out  on   his   famous  journey   from    Virginia  to 


FIGHTING    THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS.  53 

Ohio  River.  He  was  sent  by  Governor  Dinwiddie  of  Vir- 
ginia to  the  commander  of  a  French  fort  on  the  Ohio  to  tell 
him  that  his  fort  was  on  English  soil  and  to  command  him 
to  leave.  The  French  officer  treated  the  young  messenger 
kindly,  listened  to  his  command,  but  refused  to  obey  it. 
When  Washington  returned  with  this  reply,  Governor  Din- 
widdie prepared  to  send  300  Virginia  soldiers  to  drive  the 
French  away. 

North  Carolina  Prepares  to  Help  Virginia.  —Governor 
Dinwiddie  then  asked  North  Carolina  to  help  him  against 
the  French.  The  North  Carolina  assembly  at  once  voted 
£12,000  and  equipped  450  soldiers.  These  soldiers  were 
put  under  the  command  of  Colonel  James  Innes  of  Wil- 
mington. 

A  Brave  Colonial  Officer. — "When  Governor  Dinwiddie 
learned  that  Colonel  Innes  was  to  command  the  North  Car- 
olina soldiers,  he  appointed  him  commander  of  the  Virginia 
troops  also,  This  pleased  Washington,  who  wrote  to  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie  that  he  was  happy  to  be  "  under  the  com- 
mand of  an  experienced  officer  and  a  man  of  sense."  But 
the  North  Carolina  soldiers  were  treated  badly  in  Virginia, 
and  when  Virginia  refused  to  supply  them  with  food  Colonel 
Innes  sent  most  of  them  home.  But  he  himself  remained 
with  about  forty  North  Carolina  soldiers.  With  these  and 
some  Virginia  soldiers  he  built  an  important  fort  called  Fort 
Cumberland.  When  General  Braddock  started  on  his  expe- 
dition against  the  French  at  Fort  Duquesne,  he  appointed 
Colonel  Innes  "Governor  of  Fort  Cumberland."     Braddock 


54  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

suffered  a  terrible  defeat,  and  his  soldiers  fled  to  Fort  Cum- 
berland for  protection,  where  they  were  received  in  safely  by 
Colonel  Innes.  Afterwards,  while  Colonel  Innes  was  absent 
in  North  Carolina,  the  French  and  Indians  attacked  the  fort 
and  killed  nearly  a  hundred  people.  Governor  Dinwiddie  at 
once  wrote  for  Colonel  Innes,  who  hurried  back  and  brought 
things  to  order  and  safety. 

A  Great  Englishman  Turns  Defeat  Into  Victory. — For 
three  years  after  this  most  of  the  fighting  was  done  in  the 
North.  The  North  Carolina  assembly  voted  large  sums  of 
money  for  the  war,  and  sent  four  companies  under  Major 
Edward  Dobbs  to  join  the  British  and  American  army  in 
New  York.  They  suffered  defeat  with  all  the  others,  for  at 
first  the  French  were  everywhere  victorious.  But  in  the 
summer  of  1757  William  Pitt,  the  greatest  man  in  England, 
took  charge  of  the  English  government.  He  selected  the 
best  soldiers  he  could  find  in  England  and  America  and  sent 
them  to  fight  the  French  and  Indians,  Then  the  British  be- 
gan to  win  victories  and  soon  drove  the  French  out  of 
America.  William  Pitt  was  such  a  great  friend  of  the 
colonies  that  we  have  in  North  Carolina  two  counties  and  a 
town  named  in  his  honor.*  There  are  also  many  other 
such  places  in  other  states. 

Hugh  Waddell  Marches  to  Port  Duquesne. — In  the 
summer  of   1758   Pitt  planned  a  great  expedition  against 


*  Pitt  and  Chatham  counties  and  the  town  of  Pittsboro.     William 
Pitt  was  afterward  made  Lord  Chatham. 


FIGHTING    THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS. 


55 


Fort  Duquesne.  This  time  the  British  commander  was 
General  John  Forbes.  North  Carolina  sent  three  companies 
under  her  best  soldier, 
Major  Hugh  Waddell. 
The  army  had  to  make 
a  long  march  through 
the  wilderness.  Many 
things  happened  to  de- 
lay their  march,  and 
General  Forbes  began 
to  fear  that  winter 
would  set  in  before 
they  could  reach  the 
French  fort.  He  knew 
that  it  would  be  very 
dangerous  to  spend  the 
winter  in  the  great 
wilderness,  and  was 
about  to  turn  back  and  wait  for  spring,  when  a  North  Caro- 
lina soldier  saved  the  day. 

This  man  was  Sergeant  John  Rogers,  of  one  of  Major 
WaddelFs  companies.  At  great  risk  of  his  life  he  captured 
an  Indian  ally  of  the  French,  from  whom  General  Forbes 
learned  that  as  soon  as  his  army  came  in  sight  of  Fort 
Duquesne  the  French  intended  to  give  up  the  fort  and 
run  away.  General  Forbes  at  once  selected  some  of  his 
best  soldiers  and  sent  them  rapidly  forward  under  George 
Washington  to  attack  the  fort.     Among  them  were  the  North 


HUGH    WADDELL. 


56  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Carolina  troops  under  Hugh  Waddell.  On  the  march 
Major  Waddell  "  dressed  and  acted  as  an  Indian'1  and  "had 
great  honor  done  him."  Sure  enough,  as  soon  as  the  Eng- 
lish appeared  the  French  fled  and  the  fort  fell  into  Washing- 
ton's hands.  He  changed  the  name  to  Fort  Pitt.  It  is  said 
that  the  first  member  of  the  English  army  to  enter  the  fort 
was  a  large  dog  that  belonged  to  Major  Waddell.  After  the 
capture  of  the  fort  the  North  Carolina  troops  were  not 
needed  any  longer  and  returned  home. 

The  English  gained  several  other  victories  and  the  French 
were  glad  to  make  peace.  They  had  to  give  up  all  their 
territory  in  North  America. 

Hugh  Waddell  Builds  Port  Dobbs. — Upon  his  return 
from  Fort  Duquesne  Hugh  W^addell  found  work  to  do 
in  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina.  The  Cherokee  and 
Catawba  Indians  who  were  scattered  through  that  region 
had  been  giving  trouble  for  several  years  to  the  white 
settlers.  Three  years  before  Waddell  marched  into  Virginia 
the  assembly  sent  him  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace  with  these 
Indians  and  to  build  a  fort  for  the  protection  of  the  settlers. 
With  150  men  he  marched  to  the  frontier  and  built  Fort 
Dobbs,  named  in  honor  of  the  governor,*  a  few  miles  west 
of  Salisbury.  He  also  made  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  but 
as  soon  as  Waddell  left,  the  Indians  broke  it  and  began 
again  their  hostilities.  Many  of  the  settlers  fled  to  the 
Moravians  for  safety,  where  they  found  a  welcome. 

*  The  governor  of  North  Carolina  at  the  time  was  Arthur  Dohbs. 


FIGHTING   THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS.  57 

The  Indians  Attack  Fort  Dobbs. — The  activity  of  the 
Indians  made  it  necessary  for  the  Moravians  to  place  guards 
around  their  little  settlement  day  and  night.  Men  attended 
church  with  their  rifles  across  their  knees.  More  than  once 
when  the  Indians  were  about  to  make  an  attack,  they  were 
frightened  away  by  the  ringing  of  the  church  bells  for 
services.  This  dangerous  situation  made  it  necessary  for 
the  assembly  to  send  troops  to  the  frontier.  When  Hugh 
Waddell  returned  from  Virginia,  he  was  made  a  colonel  and 
sent  again  to  Fort  Dobbs.  Here  on  February  27,  1760,  he 
was  attacked  by  two  parties  of  Indians.  After  a  short  fight 
he  drove  them  away,  killing  twelve  of  their  warriors  and 
losing  only  one  man  himself. 

The  Indians  Ask  for  Peace. — The  next  year  a  great 
expedition  was  planned  to  destroy  the  power  of  the  Indians. 
Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and  North  Carolina  all  sent  troops. 
Those  from  North  Carolina  were  commanded  by  Colonel 
Waddell.  They  marched  against  the  Cherokee  towns,  the 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia  troops  from  the  North,  the 
South  Carolina  troops  from  the  South.  The  latter  met  the 
Indians  in  what  is  now  Macon  county,  and  defeated  them 
in  a  great  battle.  Their  supplies  were  destroyed,  their  corn 
fields  laid  waste,  and  their  towns  burned.  The  Indians  were 
forced  to  ask  for  peace.      This  expedition  closed  the  war. 

Pushing-  "Westward. — These  troubles  with  the  Indians 
had  prevented  many  white  people  from  settling  in  the  region 
west  of  Salisbury  and  had  forced  others  to  leave.  But  as 
soon  as  the  troubles  were  over,  the  old  settlers  returned  to 


58  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

their  homes  and  new  ones  followed.  They  cleared  the 
woods  and  built  their  little  log  cabins  on  the  frontier,  until 
the  settlements  of  the  whites  stretched  all  the  way  to  the 
mountains.  Some  few,  more  adventurous  than  the  others, 
even  began  to  cross  the  mountains  and  pitch  their  tents 
along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  in  the  present  states  of 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky. 

A  Great  Hunter. — The  leader  of  these  bold  pioneers  was 
Daniel  Boone,  a  great  hunter.  Daniel  Boone  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  but  when  he  was  only  thirteen  years  old,  his 
parents  moved  into  North  Carolina  and  settled  on  Yad- 
kin River.  There  Daniel  Boone  grew  to  manhood;  there 
he  learned  to  love  the  silent  woods,  the  birds,  and  the  wild 
beasts ;  there  he  became  more  skilful  than  any  Indian  with 
his  rifle ;  there  he  found  his  wife  and  built  his  first  log 
cabin ;  and  there  settled  down  to  the  quiet  life  of  a  pioneer 
farmer.  But  the  quiet  life  of  a  farmer  did  not  suit  the 
adventurous  hunter.  He  liked  the  vast  forests  better  than 
the  peaceful  fireside,  and  sought  the  hiding  places  of  the 
panther  and  the  bear  and  the  deer  rather  than  the  rustling 
cornfield.  He  was  a  match  for  any  Indian  in  his  knowledge 
of  the  pathless  woods,  and  he  usually  dressed  like  an 
Indian.  He  wore  a  fur  cap  ;  his  hunting-shirt  and  breeches 
were  made  of  the  skins  of  wild  animals ;  and  on  his  feet 
were  Indian  moccasins.  In  a  leather  bel£  around  his  waist 
he  carried  a  tomahawk,  a  hunting-knife,  a  powder-horn,  and 
a  bullet-pouch.  Over  his  shoulder  was  flung  his  trusty  rifle, 
which  never  missed  its  aim. 


FIGHTING   THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS.  59 

Across  the  Mountain  Wall.— Daniel  Boone  soon  grew 
tired  of  his  quiet  life  on  the  Yadkin.  He  often  looked  at 
the  great  mountain  wall  away  to  the  west  and  wondered 
what  sort  of  country  lay  beyond  it.  Finally  he  made  up 
his  mind  to  go  and  find  out,  and  flinging  his  rifle  over  his 
shoulder  he  started  for  the  unbroken  wilderness  across  the 


DANIEL    BOONE   AND    HIS    FAMILY    CROSSING   THE   BLL'E    KIDC1E. 

mountains.  On  the  banks  of  Watauga  River  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Tennessee  he  made  his  camp,  and  on  a  beech  tree 
near  by  left  this  record  : 

"  D.  Boon  cilled  a  bar  on  [this]  tree  in  the  year  1760." 
He  afterwards  returned  to  North  Carolina,  but  nine  years 
later   went   still    further   into    the    wild    woods.      He  was 
followed  by  his  own  family  and  several  other  hunters,  and 


60  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

they  made  a  little  settlement  called  Boonesboro  on  the 
banks  of  Kentucky  River.  They  had  many  wild  adven- 
tures with  the  Indians,  who  tried  to  drive  them  away. 
But  Daniel  Boone  always  got  the  best  of  them,  and  became 
the  founder  of  the  great  state  of  Kentucky.  When  the 
Revolution  broke  out,  Boone  and  his  followers  did  patriotic 
service  for  their  country. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Ohio  River.  Fort  Duquesne  stood 
where  the  city  of  Pittsburg  now  stands.  Find  Pittsburg.  Find  Yad- 
kin River  ;  Watauga  River  ;  Roonesboro,  Ky. 

REVIEW.— What  bold  demand  did  Washington  make? 
What  was  the  French  officer's  answer? 
How  did  North  Carolina  prepare  to  help  Virginia? 
Tell  the  story  of  Colonel  James  Innes. 
What  great  Englishman  saved  the  war  for  England,  and 

how  did  he  do  it? 
What  service  did  Hugh  Waddell  render  ? 
Tell  why  General  Forbes   did   not    turn  back    from  his 

march  against  Ft.  Duquesne. 
What  fort  did  Waddell    build?     How  did   this  help  the 

western  settlers? 
Tell  the  story  of  Daniel  Doone. 


¥    ¥ 


VIII. 

HOW  NORTH  CAROLINA  USED  THE 
KING'S  STAMPS. 

The  King's  Debt. — The  war  with  the  French  and  the 
Indians  cost  the  king  of  England  a  great  deal  of  money  and 
left  him  deeply  in  debt.    He  decided  to  make  the  Americans 


THE  KING'S  STAMPS.  61 

pay  this  debt  and  to  support  a  British  army  in  this  country, 
to   protect  them,  he   said,  against   the    French.     But   the 
Americans  said  that  they  had  already  done  more  than  their 
share  in  the  war ;   that  they  did  not  need  the  protection  of 
British  soldiers  and  did  not  want  any  stationed  among  them ; 
and  that  neither  the  king  nor  parlia- 
ment  had  any  right  to  tax  them  with- 
out their  consent.     This  reply  made  '%■  ;;    ^    >. 
the  king  very  angry  and  he  had  par- 
liament  pass    the    stamp    act.     The 
stamp  act,  as   you  learned  in    your 
history  of  the  United  States,  was  a 
law  "  which  declared  that  every  deed 
for  land,  every  marriage  certificate, 
every  will  or  other  important  writing 

must  be  on  stamped  paper.  This  special  kind  of  paper  was 
to  be  sold  by  the  British  government  at  a  very  high  price, 
and  the  money  received  from  this  tax  was  to  be  used  in 
supporting  the  British  army  in  America.'1  Let  us  now  learn 
how  the  people  in  North  Carolina  used  the  king's  stamps. 

A  Bold  Answer. — The  news  of  the  stamp  act  reached 
North  Carolina  in  May,  1765.  At  that  time  William  Tryon 
was  governor,  and  the  assembly  was  in  session  at  Wil- 
mington. Governor  Tryon  was  anxious  for  the  people  to 
obey  the  king's  wishes  and  use  the  stamps.  But  would 
they  do  it  ?  This  is  the  very  question  that  he  asked  John 
Ashe,  speaker  of  the  assembly.  Quick  as  a  flash,  Ashe 
replied  : 


iTAMP   ACT   STAMP. 


62  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

"We  will  resist  it  till  death." 

This  bold  reply  frightened  the  governor,  and  he  ordered 
the  members  of  the  assembly  to  break  up  the  session. 

How  the  Stamp  Agent  "Was  Welcomed  at  Wilming- 
ton.— But  Governor  Try  on  soon  learned  that  John  Ashe 
knew  what  he  was  talking  about.  The  people  held  meet- 
ings at  Wilmington,  New  Bern,  Cross  Creek,  and  other 
places,  and  declared  that  they  would  not  permit  any 
stamps  to  be  sold  in  North  Carolina.  No  stamps  had  yet 
been  sent  to  the  province,  but  some  were  daily  expected. 
So  Dr.  William  Houston,  of  Duplin  county,  was  selected  as 
agent  to  receive  and  sell  them  to  the  people.  On  November 
16,  1765,  he  went  to  Wilmington  to  see  whether  the 
stamps  had  come.  As  soon  as  the  people  heard  of  his 
arrival,  four  hundred  men  marched  .  to  the  house  where 
he  was  staying,  called  him  out,  and  demanded  of  him  : 

"Do  you  intend  to  sell  stamps  in  North  Carolina?" 

"I  shall  be  very  sorry,"  he  replied,  "to  do  anything 
against  the  wishes  of  the  people." 

But  this  was  not  enough;  they  wanted  him  to  promise 
not  to  sell  any  stamps.  So  they  carried  him  to  the  court- 
house, and  there  in  the  presence  of  the  mayor  and  alder- 
men made  him  resign  his  office  and  swear  never  to  sell 
any  stamps  in  North  Carolina. 

"  The  Place  for  the  Stamp." — Then  the  crowd  called 
on  Andrew  Stewart,  printer  of  The  Gazette,  and  made  Mm 
promise  to  print  his  paper  without  using  any  stamps. 
This  was   because  the  stamp  act  required  all    newspapers 


THE  KING'S  STAMPS.  63 

to  be  printed  on  stamped  paper.  But  as  there  were  no 
stamps  in  North  Carolina,  and  Stewart  was  afraid  to  dis- 
obey the  law,  he  had  stopped  printing  The  Gazette.  But 
now  the  people  told  him  he  must  start  it  again  without 
stamps  or  they  would  punish  him.  So  he  promised,  and 
.  when  the  paper  came  out  again,  instead  of  the  king's 
stamp,  there  was  a  picture  of  a  skull  and  bones,  with 
these  words  : 

"  This  is  the  place  for  the  stamp.'" 

How  the  Stamps  Were  Brought. — So  far  there  had 
been  nobody  to  oppose  the  people,  but  on  November  28 
a  war  vessel,  called  the  "  Diligence,"  arrived  at  Brunswick, 
where  Governor  Tryon  lived.  This  vessel  came  from  Vir- 
ginia and  brought  the  stamps  the  king  expected  to  sell  in 
North  Carolina.  She  sailed  up  the  river,  her  white  sails 
proudly  spread,  the  royal  banner  floating  from  her  mast, 
and  twenty  great  cannon  ready  to  fire  on  anybody  who 
dared  to  resist.  Governor  Tryon  probably  smiled  happily, 
as  he  looked  at  her,  and  said  to  himself: 

"  Let  us  see  what  these  rebellious  people  will  do  now!" 

The  Royal  Captain's  "Welcome. — Quickly  the  news 
spread;  up  and  down  Cape  Fear  River,  and  far  into  the 
country,  men  snatched  their  rifles  and  hurried  to  Bruns- 
wick. Captain  Phipps  soon  found  the  shore  lined  with 
hundreds  of  men,  guns  in  their  hands  and  courage  wTritten 
on  their  faces.  Hugh  Waddell,  the  famous  Indian  fighter, 
and  bold  John  Ashe,  ready  to  resist  till  death,  were  in 
command.     Any  man  who  tries  to  land  a  single  stamp  will 


64  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

be  shot  down !  Such  were  the  words  of  welcome  that  the 
royal  captain  heard.  Brave  men  these  were,  to  threaten 
with  death  the  captain  and  sailors  of  the  king's  ship !  When 
the  men  of  Boston  threw  the  tea  overboard,  they  dressed 
like  Indians,  so  no  body  would  know  them ;  but  Hugh 
Waddell  and  John  Ashe  looked  their  enemies  squarely  in 
the  eyes  and  wore  no  disguises. 

A  Visit  to  the  Governor. — And  this  was  not  the  last 
time  that  they  marched  with  their  guns  to  Brunswick  to 
resist  the  stamp  act.  In  February,  1766,  two  ships,  the 
"  Dobbs  "  and  the  "Patience,"  arrived  at  Brunswick.  They 
had  no  stamps  on  their  clearance  papers,  as  the  law  required, 
so  they  were  seized  by  Captain  Lobb,  who  commanded 
the  "Viper,"  the  king's  war  vessel  at  Brunswick.  Six  hun- 
dred armed  men  at  once  marched  to  Brunswick,  captured 
some  of  the  "  Viper's  "  crew,  and  threw  them  into  prison. 
We  may  be  sure  that  Captain  Lobb  quickly  gave  up  the 
"Dobbs"  and  the  "Patience"  to  their  captains. 

The  crowd  also  paid  Governor  Tryon  a  visit.  One  of 
the  king's  officers  was  trying  to  hide  in  the  governor's 
house ;  the  crowd  went  there,  took  him  out,  and  made 
him  swear  not  to  sell  any  stamps  in  North  Carolina. 
Governor  Tryon  wrote  to  England  that  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  of  Wilmington,  "  and  most  of  the  gentlemen 
and  planters  of  the  counties  of  Brunswick,  New  Hanover, 
Duplin,  and  Bladen,"  were  in  this  crowd.  Their  leaders 
were  Hugh  Waddell,  John  Ashe,  and  Cornelius  Harnett. 
To  these  men  and  those  who  followed  them  belongs  the 


THE  KING'S  STAMPS.  65 

honor  that  no  British  stamps  were  sold  in  North  Caro- 
lina. When  the  king  heard  how  the  Americans  used  his 
stamps  and  stamp  agents,  he  gave  up  the  stamp  act. 
and  tried  another  way  to  make  the  Americans  pay 
taxes. 

A  Gallant  Cavalier  of  the  Cape  Pear. — The  man  who 
led  the  resistance  to  the  stamp  act  in  North  Carolina  was 
John  Ashe,  the  gallant  cavalier  of  the  Cape  Fear.  For  nearly 
thirty  years  he  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  province,  and 
few  men  did  more  than  he  to  win  our  independence.  In 
the  assembly  he  wrote  and  spoke  eloquently  for  American 
liberty,  and  fought  bravely  for  it  in  the  army.  He  was  a 
major  in  the  army  of  Colonel  Innes  when  he  marched 
against  Fort  Duquesne  ;  he  was  speaker  of  the  assembly, 
and  led  the  resistance  to  the  stamp  act  in  the  colony ;  he 
was  a  general  in  Tryoirs  army  at  the  battle  of  Alamance 
and  helped  to  restore  order  and  peace  among  the  Regu- 
lators. When  the  colonies  began  to  quarrel  with  the  king, 
John  Ashe  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  every  movement  lead- 
ing to  the  Revolution  in  North  Carolina.  He  was  among 
the  first  to  draw  his  sword  when  war  began  ;  he  led  a  com- 
pany to  Moore's  Creek  Bridge  and  helped  to  win  the  opening 
victory  of  the  war ;  when  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  were 
attacked  by  the  British,  he  hurried  south  to  help  them  in 
their  battles  for  freedom.  He  was  so  active  that  the  royal 
governor  declared  he  stood  "  foremost "  among  the 
leaders  in  rebellion,  and  ought  never  to  be  pardoned  by  the 
king.    Although  he  was  not  always  fortunate,  he  was  always 


66  TEE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

brave  and  loyal  and  suffered  much  in  the  cause  of  American 
independence. 

A  Famous  Colonial  Palace. — When  the  good  news 
that  the  king  had  given  up  the  stamp  act  was  received, 
the  people  rang  bells,  lighted  bonfires,  and  shouted  with 
joy.  The  members  of  the  North  Carolina  assembly  were 
in  such  a  good  humor  that  they  voted  a  large  sum  of  money 
for  a  fine  public  building  at  New  Bern,   which  was  now 


THE    GOVERNOR  S    PA  LACK. 


the  capital  of  the  province.  Work  was  begun  on  it  in 
1767,  but  it  was  not  finished  until  1770.  Part  of  it  was 
used  for  the  governor's  residence,  and  for  this  reason  it 
was  called  "The  Governor's  Palace.1'  But  there  were  also 
halls  for  the  meetings  of  the  council  and  the  assembly,  and 
offices  for  the  governor  and  other  public  officials.  When 
it  was  finished,  it  was  said  to  be  the  finest  building  in 
America. 


THE  KING'S  STAMPS.  67 

But  after  the  Revolution  the  capital  was  moved  away 
from  New  Bern,  and  the  "Palace"  was  foolishly  allowed 
to  go  to  ruin.  It  was  used  for  a  storage  house,  and 
straw  was  piled  up  in  the  cellar.  One  night  in  the 
year  1798  an  old  negro  woman,  looking  for  hen's  eggs, 
went  into  the  cellar  carrying  a  blazing  pine  knot.  Who 
needs  to  be  told  the  rest  of  the  story  ?  Governor  Tryon 
has  been  much  blamed  because  the  assembly  had  this 
palace  built ;  but  he  ought  rather  to  be  praised  for  what 
he  did,  and  the  blame  should  be  placed  on  those  who  al- 
lowed it  to  be  destroyed. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  How  did  the  king  try  to  pay  his  debts? 

2.  What  was  the  stamp  act? 

3.  What  question  did  Governor  Tryon   ask  Colonel  Ashe,    and 
what  did  Colonel  Ashe  reply? 

4.  Tell  how  the  Wilmington  people  welcomed  the  king's  stamp 
agent. 

5.  What  did  Andrew  Stewart  use  in  place  of  the  stamp? 

6.  How  were  the  stamps  brought  to  Xorth  Carolina? 

7.  Why  did  not  the  captain  of  the  ■'Diligence"  land  the  stamps? 

8.  Tell  about  the  crowd's  visit  to  Governor  Tryon. 

9.  Who  was  the  leader  in  resisting  the  stamp  act  on  the  Cape 

Fear?     Tell  about  him. 
10.     Who  can  tell  the  story  of  the  famous  colonial  palace? 


68  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

IX. 

A  COLONIAL  BATTLE. 

How  Taxes  Were  Collected. — While  the  palace  was 
being  built  at  New  Bern,  news  came  to  the  governor  of 
serious  trouble  in  the  country  around  Hillsboro.  The  chief 
cause  of  this  was  the  dishonesty  of  some  public  officers. 
Some  of  the  sheriffs  would  collect  taxes  from  the  people 
and  put  the  money  into  their  own  pockets,  instead  of  using 
it  as  the  law  required.  Often,  too,  taxes  were  so  high  that 
a  poor  man  could  not  pay  them  at  the  very  moment  the 
sheriff  came.  Then  the  sheriff  would  take  his  cow,  or  his 
horse,  or  some  other  property,  sell  it  for  taxes,  and  keep 
the  money  for  his  own  use. 

But  this  was  not  all.  If  a  man  had  an  officer  or  a  lawyer 
to  do  anything  for  him,  he  had  to  pay  a  certain  sum  of 
money  for  the  work.  This  was  called  a  "fee,1'  and  the 
amount  of  the  fees  which  the  officers  and  the  lawyers  were 
allowed  to  charge  was  fixed  by  law.  But  generally  the  poor 
man  did  not  know  what  the  law  was,  and  would  have  to 
pay  two  or  three  times  as  much  as  was  right.  If  he  found 
it  out  later  and  complained  to  the  courts,  the  judges  would 
not  help  him.  So  he  lost  his  money,  and  the  dishonest 
officers  escaped  punishment. 

The  Regulators. — Of  course  the  people  got  tired  of  being 
robbed.  So  they  formed  themselves  into  bands  of  "  Regu- 
lators,'1 and  agreed  that  they  would  pay  no  more  taxes  or 
fees   unless    they  knew  that  they  were  right  and  that  the 


A   COLONIAL  BATTLE.  69 

money  was  to  be  used  honestly.  So  they  called  on  the 
sheriffs  to  tell  them  what  taxes  the  people  owed,  how  much 
they  had  paid,  and  what  had  been  done  with  the  money. 
They  had  a  right  to  know  these  things,  yet  the  sheriffs 
would  not  tell  them. 

A  Colonial  Governor  and  the  People. — Then  they 
turned  to  Governor  Tryon  for  help ;  but  the  governor 
listened  to  the  sheriffs'  stories  of  the  dispute  and  would  not 
believe  what  the  Regulators  said.  If  he  had  acted  wisely 
and  had  been  careful  to  find  out  the  truth,  he  could  easily 
have  put  a  stop  to  all  the  trouble.  But  he  did  not  do  this. 
He  raised  an  army  and  marched  against  the  Regulators.  At 
Hillsboro  he  had  some  of  them  arrested  and  thrown  into 
jail,  and  commanded  the  others  to  go  home  and  obey  the 
laws.  They  did  this,  and  Governor  Tryon  returned  to  his 
palace  at  New  Bern. 

A  Good  Cause  Ruined. — So  far  the  Regulators  had  been 
orderly  and  peaceable.  They  had  asked  the  sheriffs  for  an 
honest  use  of  their  money ;  they  had  prayed  the  courts  for 
justice;  they  had  begged  the  governor  for  help;  but  they 
received  no  help.  Then  their  patience  gave  out,  and  they 
ruined  their  cause  by  doing  many  things  for  which  they 
deserved  to  be  punished. 

When  the  court  met  at  Hillsboro  in  September,  1770,  a 
band  of  Regulators  dashed  into  the  court-house,  drove  the 
judge  out,  and  cruelly  whipped  several  of  the  lawyers,  some 
of  whom  were  among  the  best  and  most  honorable  men  in 
the   province.     The   troubles    quickly    spread    into    other 


70  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

counties  ;  barns  and  dwelling  houses  were  burned  ;  a  num- 
ber of  men  were  severely  whipped  ;  and  a  band  of  Regu- 
lators threatened  to  march  to  New  Bern  and  break  up  the 
assembly.  All  these  violent  acts  frightened  peaceable 
people ;  and  the  council  and  the  assembly  both  begged 
Governor  Tryon  to  call  out  the  soldiers  and  restore  order. 

The  Last  Argument. — There  was  really  nothing  else  for 
the  governor  to  do,  so  he  set  out  on  his  march  to  Hillsboro 
with  an  army  of  1,100  men.  Many  of  the  best  and  most 
patriotic  men  in  North  Carolina  marched  with  this  army. 
Among  them  were  Hugh  Waddell,  who  resisted  the  stamp 
act;  Robert  Howe,  Richard  Caswell,  Alexander  Lillington, 
James  Moore,  John  Ashe,  and  Francis  Nash,  all  of  whom 
became  eminent  for  services  in  the  Revolutionary  War; 
Abner  Nash,  who  was  afterwards  elected  governor ;  Samuel 
Spencer,  who  became  a  distinguished  judge ;  Willie  Jones 
and  Cornelius  Harnett,  two  of  the  foremost  patriots  of  the 
Revolution. 

At  Hillsboro,  Tryon  learned  that  about  2,000  Regulators 
were  encamped  on  the  banks  of  Alamance  Creek,  a  few  miles 
away,  and  he  at  once  marched  towards  them.  Again  the 
Regulators  sent  a  petition  to  him  asking  him  to  hear  their 
side  of  the  dispute  ;  but  he  told  them  that  he  would  not  do  so 
until  they  had  laid  down  their  arms,  returned  to  their  homes, 
and  were  ready  to  obey  the  law.  Then  the  Regulators 
cried  out  angrily  that  all  they  wanted  was  a  chance  to  fight, 
and  with  an  oath  dared  the  governor  to  fire  on  them.  At 
that  Tryon  turned  to  his  soldiers  and  ordered  them  to  fire. 


A    COLONIAL  BATTLE.  (1 

For  a  moment  they  waited ;  then  he  exclaimed,  im- 
patiently : 

"Fire!  Fire  on  them  or  on  me!"  The  soldiers  obeyed, 
and  the  battle  of  Alamance  began. 

The  battle  lasted  two  hours,  and  then  the  Regulators  fled. 
Of  the  colonial  troops  nine  men  were  killed  and  about  fifty 
wounded.  The  Regulators  had  about  thirty  killed  and 
nearly  two  hundred  wounded.  Several  hundred  were 
taken  prisoners. 


JF   THE    REGULATOR: 


So  far  Governor  Tryon,  in  trying  to  uphold  the  laws,  had 
only  done  his  duty.  But  after  the  battle  his  conduct  was 
not  good.  He  treated  the  prisoners  harshly,  several  of 
whom  were  hanged.  Many  of  the  Regulators  despaired  of 
ever  getting  justice  in  North  Carolina ;  hundreds  broke  up 
their  homes,  sold  their  lands,  and,  following  the  example  of 
Daniel  Boone,  sought  new  homes  in  the  wilderness  beyond 
the  mountains. 


72  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

The  First  American  Constitution. — There  they  found 
a  few  settlers  from  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  These  had 
moved  across  the  mountains  about  the  year  1769  and 
settled  on  the  banks  of  Watauga  River.  As  many  as 
1,500  Regulators,  besides  many  other  settlers,  now  joined 
them.  The  little  settlement  grew  so  large  that  it  had  to 
have  a  government  of  some  sort,  so  in  the  year  1772  a 
plan  was  written  out  and  agreed  to.  It  was  the  first  written 
plan  of  government  ever  made  west  of  the  mountains  and  the 
first  ever  adopted  by  native  Americans.*  It  was  called  "The 
Watauga  Association."  The  leaders  in  this  work  were 
James  Robertson  and  John  Sevier,  two  of  the  greatest 
pioneers  who  ever  lived.  Four  years  later  they  asked  to  be 
united  to  North  Carolina,  and  the  request  was  granted. 
The  Watauga  Association  then  became  Washington  county. 
Afterwards  Washington  county  grew  into  the  state  of 
Tennessee. 

REVIEW.— Let  the  pupils  tell— 

1.  How  the  sheriffs  robbed  the  people. 

2.  How  the  people  tried  to  get  justice. 

3.  How  the  Regulators  ruined  their  cause. 

4.  How  Tryon  marched  against  them. 

5.  How  the  first  American  constitution  was  written. 


*  Roosevelt  :  The  Winning  of  the  West,  I.  231. 


HOW  THE   WAR  BEGAN.  73 

X. 

HOW  THE  WAR  BEGAN. 

Another  Scheme  for  Taxing-  the  Colonists. — When  the 
king  gave  up  the  stamp  act,  he  did  not  intend  by  any  means 
to  give  up  his  schemes  for  making  the  Americans  pay  taxes. 
So  he  had  another  law  passed  by  parliament  putting  a  tax 
on  tea,  glass,  paper  and  a  few  other  things  that  the  Ameri- 
cans bought  from  England.  The  Americans  at  once  declared 
that  they  would  not  use  any  of  these  taxed  articles,  and  the 
British  merchants  became  alarmed  at  this  because  their 
trade  began  to  suffer.  Parliament  then  took  off  the  tax  on 
all  the  articles  except  tea.  That  was  left  on  in  order  to 
"  try  the  question  with  America."  We  shall  now  see  how 
the  people  of  North  Carolina  and  other  colonies  "  tried  the 
question  with  the  king." 

John  Harvey. — The  man  who  led  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  when  the  king  decided  to  "  try  the  question"  with 
them  was  John  Harvey,  of  Perquimans  county.  For  nearly 
thirty  years  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  assembly  and 
was  several  times  speaker.  In  1765  he  helped  Governor 
Tryon  lay  off  a  route  for  carrying  mail  through  the  province 
from  the  Virginia  line  on  the  north  to  the  South  Carolina 
line  on  the  south,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles.  He 
was  one  of  the  boldest  men  in  the  province  in  opposing 
the  stamp  act  as  unlawful  and  unjust.  Often  he  led 
the  assembly  in  disputes  with  the  governor,  and  always 
came    out  victorious.     One   of  these   disputes  occurred   in 


HOW  THE   WAR  BEGAN.  75 

1773.  By  that  time  the  colonies  had  seen  that  the  only 
way  they  could  resist  the  king  was  by  helping  each  other. 
So  Virginia  proposed  that  a  committee  should  be  selected  in 
each  province  to  write  to  the  committees  of  the  other 
colonies  so  that  each  could  know  what  the  others  were 
doing.  These  committees  could  also  make  helpful  sugges- 
tions to  each  other.  They  were  called  committees  of  corre- 
spondence. The  royal  governors  opposed  the  plan,  but  in 
North  Carolina  John  Harvey  led  the  assembly  to  appoint  a 
committee  in  spite  of  Governor  Martin,  the  king's  governor. 
This  committee  had  on  it  some  of  the  leading  men  in  the 
province  :  John  Harvey,  Robert  Howe,  Cornelius  Harnett, 
William  Hooper,  Richard  Caswell,  Edward  Vail,  John  Ashe, 
Joseph  Hewes,  and  Samuel  Johnston.  This  was  an  impor- 
tant step,  for  these  committees  soon  led  to  a  congress  for  all 
the  colonies.  We  shall  now  see  how  John  Harvey  beat  the 
king's  governor  when  he  opposed  the  election  of  delegates 
to  this  congress. 

John  Harvey  Takes  a  Bold  Step. — When  the  king 
heard  how  the  Americans  treated  his  stamps  and  the  tea,  he 
was  very  angry  and  sent  soldiers  to  punish  them.  Then  all 
the  colonies  saw  that  the  time  had  come  for  them  to  unite 
and  help  each  other.  So  it  was  decided  to  hold  a  meeting 
at  Philadelphia,  and  all  the  colonies  were  asked  to  send  men 
to  agree  on  a  plan  for  resisting  the  king's  soldiers.  This 
meeting  was  called  the  "  Continental  Congress"  ;  the  mem- 
bers were  called  delegates,  and  were  to  be  elected  by  the 
assemblies. 


76  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

But  in  North  Carolina  the  assembly  could  not  meet 
except  when  the  governor  called  the  members  together. 
Governor  Martin  would  not  do  so  now  because  he  did  not 
want  North  Carolina  to  send  delegates  to  the  continental 
congress.  When  John  Harvey,  speaker  of  the  assembly, 
heard  this,  he  exclaimed  angrily  : 

"  Then  the  people  will  hold  an  assembly  themselves.1' 

So  he  called  upon  the  people  to  choose  delegates  to  meet 
and  elect  men  to  the  continental  congress,  and  prepare 
the  colony  to  resist  the  king.  How  angry  Governor  Martin 
was !  He  told  the  people  that  such  a  meeting  was  against 
the  law,  and  an  insult  to  the  king,  and  he  ordered  them 
not  to  hold  it.  But  they  paid  no  attention  to  him.  The 
delegates  were  elected  and  met  at  New  Bern,  August  25, 
1774.  They  declared  that  they  were  ready  to  join  with 
the  other  colonies  in  fighting  for  their  rights ;  and  they 
chose  Richard  Caswell,  William  Hooper,  and  Joseph  Hewes, 
to  go  to  the  congress  at  Philadelphia. 

Preparing  for  War. — Another  important  thing  that  this 
convention  did  was  to  tell  the  people  to  select  a  committee 
of  leading  men  in  every  county  and  town  who  should  buy 
gunpowder  and  arms,  and  other  things  needed  in  war. 
These  were  called  "committees  of  safety."  The  leading 
man  in  this  work  was  Cornelius  Harnett,  of  Wilmington. 
He  was  called  "  the  Pride  of  the  Cape  Fear.1'  A  few 
months  later  a  '•'  committee  of  safety  "  for  the  whole  province 
was  appointed,  with  Cornelius  Harnett  at  its  head.  This 
committee  raised  an  army  and  prepared  the  colony  for  war. 


HOW  THE   WAR  BEGAN. 


77 


A  Tea-Party  at  Edenton. — The  convention  also  declared 
that  the  tax  on  tea  was  unlawful  and  unjust.  Every  mem- 
ber pledged  himself  not  to  use  any  of  the  taxed  tea  and  not 
to  allow  any  to  be  used  in  his  family  ;  and  the  convention 
declared  that  all  who  did  not  follow  this  example  should  be 
looked  upon  as  "  enemies  to  their  country." 

The  people  all  over  the  province  approved  of  these 
pledges,  and  in  many  of  the  towns  and  counties  they  held 
meetings  and  pledged  themselves  to  abide  by  them.     At 


i    DEATH  TO    COUNTERFEIT.  (Cj-j: 

FIVE    DOLLARS,  I  * 

STATE  of  NORTH  CAROLINA.       J  ^ 

fc I  HIS  Bill  intill«  the  Beam-  to  reccl 

JT   \  FIVE  Spanilh  miird  DOLLARS, 
S"  j   the  Value  thereof  in  Gold  or  Silv. 

*-~~  )  agreeable  to  an  A<H  of  AiTembly  palled  | 
at  Hillfborough  the  Slh  Day  of  Augurt,  177s. 


The  Rising  J 

STATES.} 


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NORTH    CAROLINA    CURRENCY    IN    THE    REVOLUTION. 


Edenton  on  October  25,  1774,  fifty-one  women  met  at  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  King  and  declared  that  they  would 
obey  the  resolves  of  the  convention.  They  signed  a  paper 
binding  themselves  to  give  up  the  "  custom  of  drinking  tea  " 
until  the  tax  was  taken  off.  In  those  days  tea  was  the 
favorite  drink  at  women's  parties  and  no  party  was  thought 
complete  without  it.  This  action  of  the  women  of  Edenton 
shows  that  the  women  of  North  Carolina  were  as  ready  as 
their  husbands  and  fathers  to  make  sacrifices  for  the  good 
of  their  country. 


78  THE  OLD  NOB  Til  STATE. 

The  Last  Royal  Governor. — Governor  Martin  abused 
the  people  so  much  for  all  these  tilings  that  they  drove  him 
out  of  the  fine  palace  at  New  Bern,  and  he  had  to  fly 
for  safety  to  Fort  Johnston,  at  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear 
River.  But  the  people  of  the  Cape  Fear  would  not  allow 
him  to  remain  there.  Five  hundred  men,  led  by  John  Ashe 
and  Cornelius  Harnett,  inarched  against  the  fort,  and  the 
frightened  governor  fled  to  the  deck  of  the  British  war 
vessel,  the  "  Cruizer,11  in  Cape  Fear  River.  Then  the  fort 
was  burned  to  the  ground.  Governor  Martin  was  the 
last  of  the  king's  governors  in  North  Carolina,  for  war  had 
now  really  begun  in  the  province,  and  when  it  ended, 
North  Carolina  was  independent  of  the  king  of  England. 

"Whigs  and  Tories. — During  this  war  there  were  many 
Americans  who  said  it  was  not  right  for  ,the  people  to 
fight  against  the  king;  that  they  should  obey  his  wishes, 
no  matter  what  they  were.  These  people  were  called 
"Tories.1'  But  most  of  the  Americans  said  they  would 
rather  die  than  be  slaves,  and  if  the  king  tried  to  take 
away  their  liberty  they  would  fight.  These  men'  were 
called  "Whigs"  or  "patriots."  I  wish  I  could  say  that 
all  the  people  in  North  Carolina  were  patriots,  but  that 
would  not  be  true.  There  were  many  Tories  in  the 
province',  and  we  shall  see  how  Governor  Martin  tried  to 
make  them  fight  against  the  Whigs. 

The  First  Victory. — Governor  Martin  was  ashamed  of 
his  flight  to  the  "  Cruizer."  He  wanted  to  strike  a  heavy 
blow  for  the   king,   so   he  would  be   forgiven  for  running 


HOW  THE   WAR  BEGAN.  79 

away.  So  he  planned  to  conquer  all  the  southern  colonies. 
His  plan  was  for  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  2,000  soldiers 
from  Boston,  and  Lord  Cornwallis,  with  several  thousand 
soldiers  and  ten  war  vessels  from  Ireland,  to  come  to 
Cape  Fear  River.  Governor  Martin  himself  was  to  raise 
another  army  among  the  Highlanders  and  the  Regulators  in 
North  Carolina,  most  of  whom  were  Tories.  All  three 
were  to  meet  in  Cape  Fear  River,  and,  after  conquering 
North  Carolina,  march  against  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and 
Virginia.  The  king  liked  this  plan,  and  ordered  Clinton  and 
Cornwallis  to  set  sail  for  North  Carolina.  Governor  Martin 
sent  his  men  to  get  the  Highlanders  and  the  Regulators  ready. 
In  February,  1776,  1,500  Highlanders  marched  out  of  Cross 
Creek  on  their  way  to  Wilmington. 

But  the  Whigs,  too,  were  ready,  and  did  not  intend  to 
let  the  Tories  reach  Wilmington.  The  road  they  had  taken 
crossed  a  little  stream  a  few  miles  north  of  Wilmington, 
called  Moore's  Creek.  At  the  bridge  over  this  creek  Colonel 
Richard  Caswell  and  Colonel  Alexander  Lillington,  with 
about  1,100  men,  took  their  stand  and  waited  for  the 
Highlanders  to  come. 

Early  in  the  morning,  February  27,  they  marched  to 
attack  the  Americans.  When  they  tried  to  cross  the  bridge 
they  were  shot  down,  and  more  than  thirty  of  the  bravest 
fell  dead  into  the  creek.  Then  the  others  lost  heart,  turned, 
and  fled.  The  Americans  followed,  killing  a  few  and  captur- 
ing a  large  number.  The  battle  lasted  only  a  few  minutes, 
but  the  victory  was  complete.     The  Americans   had   only 


80  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

one  man  killed.  They  captured  850  prisoners,  150  swords, 
1,500  rifles,  13  wagons  with  horses,  two  chests  of  medicine 
fresh  from  England,  and  a  box  of  money  amounting  to 
$75,000  in  gold. 

A  Thrilling-  Midnight  Ride. — The  battle  of  Moore's 
Creek  Bridge  had  its  heroine  as  well  as  its  heroes.  One  of 
these  heroes  was  Ezekiel  Slocum,  who  left  at  home,  when  he 
marched  away  to  battle,  a  young  wife  and  a  little  baby. 
How  long  and  lonely  the  next  day  was  for  Mary  Slocum ! 
When  night  came,  she  fell  asleep,  and  dreamed  that  she 
saw  the  dead  body  of  her  husband  lying  on  a  bloody  battle- 
field. In  an  instant  she  sprang  up,  kissed  her  baby  good- 
bye, and  leaving  him  with  the  nurse  rushed  to  the  stable, 
saddled  her  horse,  and  away  she  flew  through  the  cold  night 
air  to  find  her  husband.  Mile  after  mile  whirled  rapidly  by, 
and  at  daybreak  she  was  thirty  miles  from  home.  Then 
she  heard  the  firing  of  guns  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  shouts 
of  the  victors.  Upon  reaching  the  battle-field  her  heart 
beat  with  joy  when  she  looked  among  the  wounded  and  did 
not  find  her  husband's  body.  He  returned  in  a  little  while 
from  pursuit  of  the  enemy  and  found  her  nursing  the 
wounded. 

"  I  was  so  happy,"  she  said,  "  and  so  were  all.  It  was 
a  glorious  victory." 

All  clay  she  nursed  the  wounded,  and  she  saved  the  lives 
of  many  brave  fellows  who  did  good  fighting  for  their 
country  long  after  that  day.  When  night  came,  she  prepared 
to  return  home.     "In  the  middle  of  the"  night,"  she  said,  "I 


HOW  THE    WAR   BEGAN.  81 

again  mounted  my  horse  and  started  home.  Caswell  and 
my  husband  wanted  me  to  stay  until  next  morning  and 
they  would  send  a  party  with  me.  But  I  wanted  to  see  my 
baby,  and  told  them  they  could  send  no  party  that  could 
keep  up  with  me.  What  a  happy  ride  I  had  back !  And 
with  what  joy  did  I  kiss  my  baby  as  he  ran  to  meet  me." 

How  the  Victory  Helped  the  American  Cause. — The 
victory  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge  was  one  of  the  most 
important  of  the  war.  There  was  great  rejoicing  all  over 
North  Carolina  when  the  news  was  heard.  Ten  thousand 
men  sprang  to  arms  and  hurried  to  Wilmington.  Clinton 
and  Cornwallis  came  with  their  mighty  armies,  but  they 
were  afraid  to  land.  Then  they  sailed  away  to  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  and  were  beaten  again.  The  Highlanders 
of  North  Carolina  did  not  try  to  help  the  king  again.  All 
they  now  asked  was  to  stay  quietly  at  home  and  attend 
to  their  own  work.  The  victory  at  Moore's  Creek  saved 
North  Carolina  from  the  British ;  and,  perhaps,  it  saved 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Virginia,  also. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Where  is  Philadelphia?  Why  was  it  a 
good  place  for  the  continental  congress  to  meet?  Find  the  mouth 
of  Cape  Fear  River.  Find  Cross  Creek  and  Wilmington.  What 
river  are  they  on?  Tell  how  Clinton  went  from  Wilmington  to 
Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1776. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  What  was  the  king's  second  scheme  for  taxing  the  Americans  ? 

2.  Tell  the  story  of  John  Harvey. 

3.  What  bold  step  did  John  Harvey  take,  and  why? 

4.  What  were  the  committees  of  safety  ? 
6 


82  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

5.  How  did  the  women  of  Edenton  show  their  opposition  to  the 

tea  tax  ? 

6.  Tell  the  story  of  Mary  Slocum's  ride. 

7.  Tell  how  the  last  royal  governor  left  North  Carolina. 

8.  Who  were  the  Tories  ?    The  Whigs  ? 

9.  How  did  Governor  Martin  try  to  conquer  North  Carolina? 

10.  Tell  about  the  victory  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge. 

11.  Why  was  this  an  important  victory? 


¥¥ 


XL 

NORTH  CAROLINA  DECLARES  FOR 
INDEPENDENCE. 

"What  William  Hooper  Said.— After  the  victory  at 
Moore's  Creek  the  Whigs  of  North  Carolina  were  ready  to 
declare  for  independence  of  the  king  of  England.  They  had 
been  talking  about  it  for  a  long  time.  Two  years  before  the 
battle  William  Hooper  had  written  to  his  friend  James 
Iredell  that  the  colonies  "  are  striding  fast  to  independence, 
and  ere  long  will  build  an  empire  on  the  ruins  of  Great 
Britain.'1 

What  Mecklenburg-  County  Did. — A  year  later,  in  May, 
1775,  when  the  people  of  Mecklenburg  county  heard  the 
news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  their  committees  met  at 
Charlotte  and  every  body  cried  out  for  independence.  They 
elected  officers  who  should  hold  their  offices  from  the  peo- 
ple, and  "independent  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain." 
What    a    bold    act    this    was !      Nowhere    else    had    the 


NORTH  CAROLINA   FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


S3 


people  dared  to  take  so  bold  a  step  ;  but  the  patriots  of 
Mecklenburg  were  ready  to  lead,  whether  the  others 
followed  or  not. 

A  Glorious  Day  :  April  12, 
1776.  —  But  neither  William 
Hooper  nor  the  patriots  of 
Mecklenburg  could  speak  for 
all  the  people  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Only  the  convention  could 
do  that.  Would  the  members 
have  the  courage  to  do  it  ? 
Many  people  wanted  thorn  to 
do  so ;  still,  they  hesitated. 
But  when  they  heard  the  news 
of  the  great  victory  at  Moore's 
Creek  Bridge,  they  all  declared 
that  the  time  had  come  to  speak 
out.  So  when  the  convention 
met  at  Halifax,  in  April,  177G, 
seven  men  were  selected  to 
write  out  what  the  convention 
should  say  about  independence. 
We  ought  to  remember  the  name  of  every  one  of  these 
men.  They  were  Cornelius  Harnett,  Allen  Jones,  Thomas 
Burke,  Abner  Nash,  John  Kinchen,  Thomas  Person,  and 
Thomas  Jones,  all  true  patriots  and  friends  of  liberty. 

Cornelius  Harnett  wrote  the  paper   for   the   committee, 
and  on  April  12,  1776,  he  read  it  to  the  convention.     He 


MONUMENT    TO    THE    SIGNERS    OF   THE 
MECKLENBURG   DECLARATION    OF 
INDEPENDENCE    AT     CHARLOTTE. 


84  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

declared  that  the  king  was  trying  to  take  away  the  liberties 
of  the  Americans ;  that  he  had  sent  armies  to  fight  them ; 
that  his  war  vessels  had  destroyed  their  property ;  and 
that  when  the  Americans  had  begged  for  "  peace,  liberty, 
and  safety,"  he  had  refused  to  hear  their  prayers.  For 
all  these  reasons  the  Americans  ought  to  declare  themselves 
independent  of  such  a  king;  and  the  convention  ought  to 
tell  the  North  Carolina  delegates  in  the  continental  congress 
to  join  "  with  the  delegates  of  the  other  colonies  in  de- 
claring independency." 

Every  man  in  the  convention  voted  for  this,  and  so 
North  Carolina  became  the  first  of  all  the  colonies  to  de- 
clare for  independence  of  Great  Britain.  Let  us  not  forget 
these  men  and  what  they  did  on  the  12th  day  of  April, 
1776,  for  it  is  a  glorious  day  in  our  history. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence. — Other  colonies  soon 
followed  the  example  of  North  Carolina.  In  June  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  one  of  the  delegates  from  Virginia,  made  his 
famous  motion  in  the  continental  congress  that  the  colonies 
were  and  ought  to  be  "free  and  independent  states."  But 
all  of  the  members  were  not  ready  for  independence  ;  some 
spoke  for  it  and  some  against  it.  Nearly  a  month  passed 
before  a  vote  was  taken.  Then  it  was  found  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  members  were  for  it,  and  on  July  4,  1776,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted. 

Three  Famous  North  Carolina  Patriots. — If  you  will 
look  at  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  you  will  find 
together  the  three  names,  William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hewes, 


NORTH  CAROLINA   FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 

and  John  Penn.  These  were  the 
men  who  signed  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  for  North  Carolina 
and  pledged  North  Carolina  to  fight 
for  it.  William  Hooper  was  an  elo- 
quent lawyer  of  Wilmington  ;  Joseph 
Hewes  was  a  gentle  and  cultured 
merchant  of  Edenton ;  John  Penn 
was  a  liberty-loving  lawyer  of  Gran- 
ville county. 


WILLIAM    HOOPER. 


William  Hooper  was  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts, Joseph  Hewes  in  New 
Jersey,  and  John  Penn  in  Virginia. 
But  all  three  lived  in  North  Caro- 
lina, worked  for  North  Carolina, 
and  their  fame  belongs  to  North 
Carolina.  Their  names  will  always 
be  remembered  together — Hooper, 
Hewes  and 


JOSEPH    HEWES. 


Penn — be- 
cause they  stand  together  on  that 
famous  declaration  that  made  North 
Carolina  a  free  and  independent  state. 
How  the  News  "Was  Received. — ■ 
There  was  great  rejoicing  in  North 
Carolina  when  it  was  learned  that 
the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was     adopted.       The     council     of 


JOHN    PENN. 


80  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

safety  which  was  in  session  at  Halifax  ordered  that  on 
August  1,  1776,  the  declaration  should  be  read  to  the 
people.  A  great  crowd  came  that  day  to  the  little  village. 
At  midday  Cornelius  Harnett,  president  of  the  council, 
escorted  by  the  soldiers,  ascended  the  platform  in  front  of 
the  court  house  and  read  the  declaration  to  the  people. 
They  heard  it  with  cheers  and  shouts  of  joy,  with  waving  of 
flags  and  booming  of  cannon.  The  soldiers  seized  Presi- 
dent Harnett  and  bore  him  through  the  village  on  their 
shoulders,  cheering  him  as  their  champion  and  swearing 
allegiance  to  the  new  nation. 

"  The  Pride  of  the  Cape  Pear." — The  man  whom  the  sol- 
diers bore  on  their  shoulders  through  the  little  village  of 
Halifax  had  been  for  many  years  one  of  the  leading  patriots 
in  North  Carolina.  No  man  in  North  Carolina  did  more 
than  he  to  arouse  the  people  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  the 
British  king ;  and  no  man  gave  more  to  the  American  cause 
in  service  or  in  fortune.  We  have  already  learned  how  he 
resisted  the  stamp  act  at  Wilmington  and  Brunswick ;  how 
he  marched  with  Try  on  against  the  Regulators  ;  how  he 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  committee  of  safety  for  the 
whole  province  ;  how  he  went  with  John  Ashe  to  drive  the 
royal  governor  out  of  Fort  Johnston  and  to  burn  the  hated 
fort  to  the  ground ;  and  how  he  wrote  the  famous  resolution 
of  April  12,  1776,  declaring  for  independence  before  any 
of  the  other  colonies. 

But  these  are  only  a  few  of  the  great  services  Cornelius 
Harnett  did  for  his  country ;  and  the  enemies  of  his  coun- 


NORTH  CAROL IX A    FOP,   INDEPENDENCE.  87 

try  did  not  forget  him.  In  1776,  when  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
came  to  the  Cape  Fear,  he  offered,  in  the  king's  name,  to 
pardon  all  "  rebels''  who  would  lay  down  their  arms  and 
obey  the  king's  government,  "  excepting  only  from  the  bene- 
fits of  such  pardon  Cornelius  Harnett  and  Robert  Howes." 
There  was  no  man  in  the  South  whom  the  British  wanted 
so  much  to  punish.  When  they  took  Wilmington  in  1781 
they  sent  an  expedition  at  once  to  capture  Harnett.  He 
was  thrown  into  prison  and  treated  so  badly  that  he  died 
from  his  ill  treatment,  a  martyr  to  the  liberties  of  his  country. 
He  is  often  called  the  "Pride  of  the  Cape  Fear;"  and  his 
memory  is  honored  in  North  Carolina  in  the  name  of 
Harnett  county. 

The  First  Constitution. — North  Carolina  was  now  an 
independent  state.  The  people  had  declared  that  they 
would  not  be  governed  by  the  king,  so  they  had  to  agree 
on  some  other  plan  of  government.  In  November,  1776, 
the  convention  met  at  Halifax,  and  a  plan  was  written  out 
and  agreed  to.  Such  a  plan  is  called  a  "  constitution." 
The  governors  were  no  longer  to  be  sent  over  by  the  king ; 
they  were  to  be  elected  by  the  assembly.  On  December 
24,  1776,  Richard  Caswell,  the  brave  colonel  who  had 
defeated  the  Tories  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  became  the 
first  governor  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina. 

Richard  Caswell. — The  man  whom  the  convention 
elected  the  first  governor  of  the  independent  state  served 
the  people  of  North  Carolina  in  more  ways,  perhaps,  than 
any  other  man.     He  came  to  North  Carolina  from  Maryland 


88  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

when  he  was  only  a  boy  seventeen  years  old,  seeking  his 
fortune  as  a  surveyor.  So  many  new  settlers  were  moving 
into  the  province  at  that  time  that  the  young  surveyor  found 
plenty  of  work  to  do,  and  did  it  well.  Eight  years  after  his 
arrival  the  people  of  Johnston  county  elected  him  to  the 
assembly.  He  was  in  the  assembly  many  times,  before 
and  after  the  Revolution,  and  was  often  speaker.  In  the 
assembly  no  man  worked  harder  than  he  to  improve  the 
province.  He  voted  for  laws  to  make  the  courts  better  so 
that  the  people  could  get  justice;  to  protect  the  western 
counties  from  the  Indians ;  to  increase  the  trade  and  build 
up  the  wealth  of  the  province. 

He  loved  liberty  and  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  the 
colony  to  resist  the  king's  tyranny.  You  have  already  been 
told  how  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  corre- 
spondence; a  delegate  to  the  continental  congress;  a  colonel 
in  the  army ;  victor  at  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge, 
for  which  he  was  made  a  general ;  and  finally  how  he  was 
elected  the  first  governor  of  the  state  after  our  indepen- 
dence. He  was  elected  governor  of  North  Carolina  six 
times.  We  have  had  many  governors  since  but  none  who 
loved  North  Carolina  more  than  he  did  or  served  the  state 
better.  Perhaps,  too,  there  has  been  none  whom  the  peo- 
ple trusted  and  loved  more  than  they  did  him.  In  1777 
the  assembly  showed  how  much  the  members  thought  of 
him  by  making  a  new  county  and  naming  it  in  his  honor. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Charlotte,  Halifax,  Wilmington, 
Edenton. 


THE  HORNETS'  NEST.  89 

REVIEW.— 

1 .  What  did  William  Hooper  say  about  independence  ? 

2.  Tell  what  Mecklenburg  county  did  in  May,  1775. 

3.  Tell  how  the  convention  at  Halifax  declared  for  independence. 

4.  Tell  what  happened  at  Philadelphia  July  4,  1776. 

5.  What  three  North  Carolina  patriots  signed  the  Declaration  of 

Independence? 

6.  How  was  the  news  received? 

7.  Tell  the  story  of  Cornelius  Harnett. 

8.  Tell  the  story  of  our  first  constitution. 

9.  Who  was  the  first  governor  of  the  independent  state  ?     Tell 

what  you  know  about  him. 


¥  ¥ 

XII. 

THE  HORNETS'  NEST. 

How  the  Indians  "Were  Punished. — Of  course  the  king  did 
not  willingly  give  up  his  colonies ;  they  had  to  fight  for  their 
freedom.  During  the  summer  of  1776  North  Carolina  soldiers 
did  some  important  fighting  in  the  western  part  of  the  state. 
This  was  with  the  Cherokee  Indians,  who  lived  among  the 
mountains.  These  Indians  had  promised  Governor  Martin 
to  attack  the  white  settlers  in  the  West,  so  they  could  not 
march  to  help  the  patriots  in  the  East.  The  Indians  fell 
upon  them  in  June  and  destroyed  a  number  of  people. 

Then  General  Griffith  Rutherford,  with  a  force  of  North 
Carolina  soldiers,  marched  against  them.  He  had  to  go 
through  a  rough  country,  covered  with  boundless  forests, 
steep    mountains,    and    rushing   streams.     There    were  no 


90 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


roads  or  bridges;  slill  he  marched  so  rapidly  that  he  reached 
the  Cherokee  towns  before  the  Indians  knew  he  was 
coming.  Pie  punished  them  severely  :  burned  their  towns  ; 
destroyed  their  crops  ;  and  killed  a  number  of  their  warriors. 
He  lost  only  three  of  his  own  men.  The  Indians  were 
driven  farther  across  the  mountains,  and  some  even  fled  to 
Florida  for  safety.  After  this  there  was  not  much  danger 
to  be  feared  from  these  Indians,  and  the.  western  settlers 
were  able  to  leave  their  homes  and  fight  against  the  British. 
Four  Years  of  Fighting. — Four  years  now  passed  be- 
fore there  was  any  more  fighting  in  North  Carolina.  But 
during  these  years  North  Carolina  soldiers  were  fighting  for 
their  freedom  in  other  states.  Colonel 
John  Ashe  marched  to  help  the  city  of 
Charleston  in  1776,  when  Clinton  and 
Cornwallis  sailed  to  attack  it.  Several 
thousand  North  Carolina  soldiers  joined 
Washington's  army  in  the  North,  fought 
bravely  in  the  great  battles  of  Brandy- 
wine,  Germantown,  Monmouth,  and  else- 
where, and  suffered  with  him  at  Valley 
Forge. 

When  the  British  found  that  they  could  not  beat  Wash- 
ington in  the  North,  they  decided  to  attack  the  South  again. 
North  Carolina  sent  soldiers  to  both  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina.  But  those  two  states  were  soon  conquered,  and 
then  Lord  Cornwallis  prepared  to  march  into  North 
Carolina.     Once    more,    as    at    Moore's    Creek    Bridge    in 


A   SOLDIER   OF   THE 
REVOLUTION. 


THE  HORNETS'   XEST.  91 

1776,  the  American  cause  in  the  South  rested  on  North 
Carolina,  and  patriots  everywhere  anxiously  asked  each 
other  if  that  state  would  be  able  to  save  it. 

How  the  Tories  "Were  Again  Defeated. — Lord  Corn- 
wallis  expected  the  Tories  to  help  him  when  he  marched 
into  North  Carolina.  So  he  sent  two  of  his  men  to  tell 
them  to  get  ready,  for  he  was  coming  soon.  These  men 
told  the  people  that  all  those  who  helped  the  British  would 
be  rewarded,  but  all  others  would  be  punished.  They 
urged  the  Tories  to  save  themselves  by  joining  the  British 
army.  More  than  1,300  of  them  met  in  June  at  a  place 
near  the  present  town  of  Lincolnton,  called  Ramsauer's 
Mill,  and  prepared  to  march  to  join  Cornwallis. 

But  the  patriots  knew  what  the  Tories  were  doing,  and 
they  did  not  intend  to  let  them  join  the  British  army. 
General  Rutherford,  the  conqueror  of  the  Cherokees, 
marched  to  the  little  village  of  Charlotte  with  900  men  ;  and 
Colonel  Francis  Locke,  of  Salisbury,  gathered  another  force 
of  400  men.  They  intended  to  unite,  but  on  the  march 
missed  each  other.  Colonel  Locke  thought  that  if  he  caught 
the  Tories  by  surprise  he  could  beat  them  with  his  little 
army.  So  by  a  rapid  march  he  reached  Ramsauer's  Mill 
June  20,  1780,  before  the  Tories  knew  he  was  anywhere 
near.  A  sharp  fight  followed,  and  the  Tories  were  driven 
from  the  field  in  confusion.  General  Rutherford  afterwards 
came  up  and  completed  the  rout.  About  seventy  men  were 
killed  on  each  side.  The  Whigs  also  captured  100  prison- 
ers, 300  horses,  and  a  great  deal  of  baggage.     In  this  battle 


92  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

neighbor  fought  against  neighbor,  friend  against  friend,  and 
brother  against  brother.  It  was  a  sad  sight  next  day 
to  see  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  missing  looking  over 
the  field  to  find  their  dead. 

This  victory  was  the  first  the  patriots  had  won  in  the 
South  in  two  years  and  was  glad  news  to  them.  Hundreds 
flew  to  arms,  and  hurried  to  Hillsboro,  where  General  Gates 
was  forming  an  army  to  march  against  Lord  Cornwall  is. 

The  Hornets'  Nest. — Bat  their  rejoicing  did  not  last  long. 
General  Gates  was  beaten  at  a  place  called  Camden,  in  South 
Carolina.  It  was  the  worst  defeat  the  Americans  had  ever 
suffered;  their  army  was  destroyed,  and  there  seemed  noth- 
ing to  keep  the  British  from  conquering  North  Carolina. 

In  September  Lord  Cornwallis  began  his  march  toward 
Charlotte,  expecting  to  have  an  easy  journey.  But  the 
people  of  North  Carolina  were  not  so  glad  to  see  him  as  he 
had  hoped.  Hundreds  of  patriots,  under  such  bold  and 
active  leaders  as  General  William  L.  Davidson,  Colonel 
William  R.  Davie,  and  Major  Joseph  Graham,  followed  the 
British  army,  shooting  down  the  soldiers  at  every  chance. 
It  seemed  to  the  British  that  an  American  soldier  was 
hiding  behind  every  bush  and  rock  and  fence.  If  a  party 
left  the  main  army  to  look  for  food,  they  were  attacked  on 
every  side  by  men  whom  they  could  not  see.  If  Lord  Corn- 
wallis sent  a  messenger  anywhere,  he  was  sure  to  be  shot 
down.  When  the  army  reached  Charlotte  Colonel  Davie's 
little  band  made  a  bold  attack  on  it  and  killed  a  number  of 
the  British  soldiers.    The  British  officers  said  that  Mecklen- 


"A    CROWD   OF  DIRTY  MONGRELS:'  93 

burg  county  was  the  most  rebellious  county  in  America, 
and  that  the  Whigs  swarmed  around  them  like  hornets,  with 
their  long  rifles  for  stings.  So  Lord  Cornwallis  called  Char- 
lotte the  "  Hornets'  Nest." 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— In  what  part  of  North  Carolina  are  moun- 
tains found?  Find  Catawba  River.  Find  the  towns  of  Lincolnton, 
Salisbury,  Charlotte,  Camden  (S.  C). 

REVIEW.— Tell— 

1.  How  Governor  Martin  tried  to  get  help  from  the  Indians. 

2.  How  General  Rutherford  prevented  their  giving  it. 

3.  How  North  Carolina  sent  help  to  other  states. 

4.  How  the  Tories  in  North  Carolina  were  beaten  a  second  time. 

5.  How  Cornwallis  was  received  in  North  Carolina. 


¥  ¥ 

XIII. 

"A  CROWD  OP  DIRTY  MONGRELS." 

A  Foolish  Threat. — Lord  Cornwallis  had  not  been  at  the 
"  Hornets'  Nest "  long  before  he  heard  news  that  sent  him 
flying  back  to  South  Carolina.  He  had  sent  Major  Patrick 
Ferguson,  one  of  his  best  officers,  on  a  trip  to  the  western 
parts  of  North  and  South  Carolina,  with  1,200  men.  Major 
Ferguson  wanted  to  raise  another  army  of  Tories,  and  to 
frighten  the  Whigs  of  Washington  county  so  they  would  not 
send  any  help  to  the  Americans  around  Charlotte.  He  sent 
a  message  to  the  men  of  that  county  that  if  any  of  them 
marched  against  the  British  he  would  cross  the  mountains 


94  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

and  destroy  their  settlements.  But  the  men  who  were  not 
afraid  to  build  their  homes  among  the  bears,  and  the  wolves, 
and  the  panthers,  and  the  Indians,  were  not  the  kind  of  men 
to  be  frightened  at  a  threat  from  a  British  major.  Fergu- 
son's message  only  made  them  angry,  and  they  decided  to 
make  him  pay  for  it. 

How  the  Threat  "Was  Answered. — One  day  in  Septem- 
ber more  than  one  thousand  pioneers  gathered  at  Sycamore 
Shoals  on  Watauga  Bivcr.  There  were  400  Virginians 
under  Colonel  William  Campbell;  500  North  Carolinians 
under  Colonel  Isaac  Shelby  and  Colonel  John  Sevier ;  and 
160  North  Carolinians  under  Colonel  Joseph  McDowell. 
Later  they  were  joined  by  Colonel  Benjamin  Cleveland,  of 
North  Carolina,  and  Colonel  James  Williams,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, with  400  men  each. 

The  officers  chose  Colonel  Campbell  for  their  leader. 
Then  Colonel  Shelby  spoke  to  the  men.  He  told  them 
where  they  were  going  and  what  they  were  going  to  do,  and 
said  that  if  any  man  was  not  willing  to  go  he  could  return 
home.  But  not  a  man  left.  Then  he  told  them  that  each 
man  must  do  his  own  fighting,  and  when  they  met  the 
British  to  give  them  "Indian  play."  After  this  speech  they 
all  shouted  that  they  were  ready  to  go  to  catch  Ferguson. 

"  A  Crowd  of  Dirty  Mongrels.'1 — What  a  strange  look- 
ing army  they  made!  There  were  no  bright  uniforms,  nor 
flying  flags,  nor  beating  drums.  Their  only  uniforms  were 
coonskin  caps,  buckskin  shirts,  and  fringed  leggings.  There 
were  no  tents  nor  baggage ;  their  only  cover  at  night  was 


"A   CEO  WD   OF  DIRTY  MONGRELS." 


95 


SWORDS  AND    BUGLE    USED    IX  THE    REV"LVTIO>\ 


the  starry  sky,  and  their  food  was  a  pocketful   of  parched 

corn.     Only  a  few  of  the  officers  had  swords.     But  every 

mamrode  a  good  horse, 

and    had    a    knife,    a 

tomahawk,  and  a  rifle ; 

and  they  knew  how  to 

use  them.     There  was 

many  a  hunter  in  that 

little  army  who  could 

knock  a  squirrel  off  a 

limb  as  far  as  he  could 

see  him.     They  were  as  fleet  as  deer  ;  as  bold  as  the  bears 

on  their  mountainsides  ;  and  as  keen  as  Indians  after  a  trail. 

Nearly  every  man  of  them  had  been  in  battles  with   the 

Indians  and  knew  how  to  fight  "  Indian  fashion. " 

When  Ferguson  heard  of  this  strange  army  he  made  fun 
of  them  and  called  them  a  "  crowd  of  dirty  mongrels.'1 
Still,  he  thought  he  had  better  get  out  of  their  way,  so  lie 
hurried  to  reach  the  top  of  King's  Mountain.  This  moun- 
tain is  on  the  line  between  North  and  South  Carolina. 
Ferguson  pitched  his  camp  on  the  South  Carolina  side,  and 
felt  so  safe  that  he  swore  all  the  rebels  in  the  world  could 
not  drive  him  off. 

Giving  Ferguson  "  Indian  Play." — But  the  men  in  the 
patriots'  army  were  used  to  climbing  mountains.  Following 
close  on  Ferguson's  heels,  they  reached  King's  Mountain 
October  7,  and  at  once  rushed  up  the  mountainsides  to 
attack  him.     As  thev  advanced  thev  srave  the  British  "  In- 


96  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

dian  play,"  and  from  behind  every  rock  and  tree  and  fence 
poured  a  hot  fire  into  their  ranks.  Ferguson  and  his  men 
fought  bravely,  but  in  vain.  They  fell  by  the  dozen,  and 
finally  Ferguson  himself,  struck  by  half  a  dozen  bullets,  fell 
dead  from  his  horse  Then  all  the  rest  gave  up  and  became 
the  prisoners  of  the  "  crowd  of  dirty  mongrels.11  The  Ameri- 
cans killed  nearly  400  of  their  enemies,  and  captured  over 
700,  besides  thousands  of  guns  and  pistols.  Only  28  of 
their  own  men  were  killed,  and  60  wounded. 

Glorious  News  for  the  Americans. — It  was  a  glorious 
victory !  Such  a  victory  had  not  been  won  in  the  South 
since  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  nearly  five  years 
before.  A  whole  British  army  had  been  destroyed  or  cap- 
tured. One  of  Cornwallis's  best  officers  had  been  killed. 
Thousands  of  Tories  who  had  been  waiting  to  join  the 
British  army  if  Ferguson  won,  returned  to  their  homes,  put 
their  rifles  in  the  racks  again,  and  left  Lord  Cornwallis  to  fight 
his  own  battles. 

Gloomy  News  for  the  British. — And  what  gloomy  news 
it  all  was  to  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Charlotte !  He  could  not 
understand  how  it  happened.  Where  did  all  those  Whigs 
come  from?  How  many  were  there?  What  were  they 
going  to  do  next?  Maybe  they  were  already  marching 
against  him  at  Charlotte.  Frightened  at  this  thought,  the 
British  general  marched  his  army  out  of  Charlotte  in  haste 
and  disorder,  and  fled  to  South  Carolina  for  safety.  So  just 
as  the  heroes  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge  saved  North  Carolina  in 
1776,  the  heroes  of  King's  Mountain  saved  the  state  in  1780. 


HOW  INDEPENDENCE   WAS   WON 


97 


GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— In    what    part    of    North    Carolina    are 
mountains  found  ?    Find  Watauga  River.    "Where  is  King's  Mountain? 

REVIEW.     Tell— 

1.  How  Ferguson  sent  a  foolish  threat. 

2.  How  the  settlers  replied  to  his  threat. 

3.  How  the   mountaineers  were    dressed.     What  did  Ferguson 
call  them  ? 

4.  How  they  gave  Ferguson  "  Indian  play."    . 

5.  How  the  victory  at  King's  Mountain  saved  North  Carolina. 


¥  ¥ 


XIV. 

HOW  INDEPENDENCE  WAS  WON. 

A  Match  for  Tarleton. — The  Americans  in  the  South 
now  took  heart  again.  They  believed  they  could  whip  the 
British  if  they  only  had  a  good 
general  to  lead  them.  So  Wash- 
ington sent  General  Nathanael 
Greene  to  take  command  of  the 
southern  army  in  North  Carolina. 
He  proved  himself  to  be  the  greatest 
soldier  in  the  war  except  Wash- 
ington. "When  Greene  reached 
Charlotte,  he  found  an  army  of 
2,300  soldiers.  Part  of  this  army 
he    put    under    the    command    of 

General  Daniel  Morgan  and    sent    to    attack   some   British 
7 


XATHAXAEL   GREENE. 


98  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

forts  in  the  western  part  of  South  Carolina.  Morgan  had 
900  men,  300  of  whom  were  North  Carolinians. 

Lord  Cornwallis  sent  the  best  officer  in  his  army  with 
1,100  men  to  destroy  Morgan's  little  band.  This  man  was 
Colonel  Banister  Tarleton.  There  was  no  other  man  in  the 
British  army  whom  the  Americans  feared  and  hated  as  they 
did  Tarleton.  He  had  beaten  them  so  many  times  and 
treated  them  so  cruelly  that  they  called  him  "bloody 
Tarleton.'1  He  thought  he  would  have  no  trouble  in  beating 
Morgan,  and  at  a  place  in  South  Carolina  called  Cowpens 
attacked  him  with  great  fury.  But  "  bloody  Tarleton  "  had 
met  his  match  at  last;  his  army  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  he 
had  to  fly  for  his  life. 

How  Morgan  Saved  His  Army. — Cornwallis  was  now 
more  than  ever  anxious  to  destroy  Morgan.  So  with  his 
whole  army  of  2,000  men  he  set  out  in  pursuit.  But  Morgan 
made  up  his  mind  not  to  be  captured,  and  he  hurried  to  put 
Catawba  river  between  his  army  and  the  British.  If  he 
could  do  this  he  would  be  safe ;  if  not,  his  little  army  might 
be  destroyed.  So  the  two  generals  began  a  race  for  the 
river,  and  Morgan  reached  there  first. 

A  Famous  Retreat. — When  General  Greene  heard  about 
Morgan's  victory  and  retreat,  he  saw  a  chance  to  strike 
Cornwallis  a  hard  blow.  If  he  could  only  get  the  British 
general  far  away  from  South  Carolina,  where  his  supplies 
and  the  rest  of  his  soldiers  were,  he  thought  he  could  beat 
him.  Sending  his  own  army  north  to  Guilford  Court  House, 
in  North    Carolina,  Greene    sprang    on  his  horse  and  rode 


HOW  INDEPENDENCE    WAS   WON. 


99 


150  miles  to  tell  Morgan  his  plan.  The  two  generals  then 
started  on  one  of  the  most  famous  retreals  in  the  history  of 
the  world.  They  were  trying  to  join  Greene's  other  army  at 
Guilford  Court  House  before  Cornwallis  caught  up  with  them. 
Cornwallis  was  anxious  to  catch  them  before  the  two  armies 
could  unite.     He  was  so  eager  that   he  made  his  soldiers 


HOOPER   MONUMENT    AT    GUILFOKD    BATTLE-GROUND. 


destroy  all  their  baggage  and  wagons,  and  throw  away  every- 
thing that  kept  them  from  marching  fast.  The  farther  away 
from  South  Carolina  they  got,  the  better  it  was  for  the  Ameri- 
cans and  the  worse  for  the  British.  But  it  was  now  too  late 
for  Cornwallis  to  turn  back. 

What  a  long,  hard  march  the  two  armies  had  !    The  roads 
were  bad,  there  were  great  rivers  to  cross,  the  weather  was 


100  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

cold  and  wet,  and  the  soldiers  on  both  sides  suffered  much. 
But  it  was  worse  with  the  patriots  than  with  the  British. 
They  had  no  tents,  no  blankets,  no  money,  and  often  no 
food.  They  were  half  naked  and  were  barefooted.  In 
many  places  their  march  could  be  traced  by  the  bloody 
tracks  they  left  behind  them.  But  they  were  brave  and  bore 
it  all  that  their  country  might  be  free.  General  Greene 
managed  the  march  so  well  that  he  reached  Guilford  Court 
House  before  Cornwallis  did,  and  united  his  two  armies. 
After  a  little  more  marching  and  a  little  rest  for  his  men,  he 
was  ready  for  the  battle. 

How  a  Victory  Ruined  Cornwallis. — Near  the  present 
city  of  Greensboro,  General  Greene  drew  up  his  men  ready 
for  a  battle.  It  began  in  the  afternoon  of  March  15,  1781, 
and  lasted  till  nearly  night.  Both  sides  did  some  of  the 
hardest  fighting  of  any  during  the  war.  After  losing  about 
400  men,  General  Greene  gave  up  the  field.  But  he  was  not 
badly  beaten,  for  he  drew  up  his  men  in  line  ready  to  fight 
again  the  next  day. 

The  British  won  the  victory,  but  they  had  lost  600  men, 
and  were  too  badly  worn  out  to  fight  again.  Cornwallis 
was  afraid  that  Greene  would  now  attack  him,  so  he  re- 
treated from  the  battle-field  and  marched  in  all  haste  to 
Wilmington.  General  Greene  then  marched  into  South 
Carolina  again,  where  he  fought  two  or  three  battles,  and 
drove  the  British  to  Charleston.  There  he  .kept  them  shut 
up  for  the  rest  of  the  war. 

It  was  too  late  now  for  Cornwallis  to  return  to    South 


HOW  INDEPENDENCE   WAS   WON. 


101 


Carolina.  So  he  marched  into  Virginia,  where  he  was  cap- 
tured by  Washington  at  Yorktown.  After  this  the  British 
gave  up  the  war,  and  the  United  States  were  free  and  inde- 
pendent. Let  us  not  forget  that  the  battles  at  King's 
Mountain,  Cowpens,  and  Guilford  Court  House  drove  Lord 
Cornwallis  to  Yorktown,  where  Washington  could  reach  him. 


CORNWALLIS'S    HEADQUARTERS  AT   WILMINGTON,    1781. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Cowpens,   Greensboro,  Wilmington, 
Yorktown  (Ya.). 

REVIEW.— 

1.  How  did  Tarleton  find  his  match? 

2.  How  did  Morgan  escape  from  Cornwallis? 

3.  Why  did  Greene  retreat  across  North  Carolina  ? 

4.  Tell  about  this  retreat. 

5.  Tell  about  the  battle- at  Guilford  Court  House. 

6.  Where  did  Cornwallis  then  go?     Where  did  Greene  go? 

7.  How    did    Greene's    fighting    help    Washington    to    capture 
Cornwallis  ? 


102  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

XV. 
A  DAUGHTER  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  Birth  of  Tennessee. — The  war  fur  independence 
had  cost  the  people  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  at 
its  close  the  United  States  owed  a  great  debt.  How 
was  this  debt  to  be  paid?  This  was  a  hard  question  to 
answer,  for  the  United  States  government  had  no  money. 
But  several  of  the  states  owned  great  tracts  of  land  in 
the  West,  and  they  now  offered  to  give  these  to  the 
United  States,  so  they  could  be  sold  and  the  money  used 
to  pay  the  debt. 

North  Carolina  was  one  of  these  states.  In  1784  the 
assembly  offered  to  the  United  States  all  the  land  now 
within  the  state  of  Tennessee.  Most  of  it  was  a  great 
wilderness  then,  and  few  people  thought  it  would  ever  be 
a  great  state.  So  congress  hesitated  to  accept  the  gift. 
This  made  the  people  angry.  It  seemed  to  them  that 
nobody  wanted  them,  for  North  Carolina  gave  them  away, 
and  congress  would  not  take  them.  So  they  made  up 
their  minds  to  take  care  of  themselves.  A  convention  of 
the  leading  men  met  at  a  place  called  Jonesboro,  and 
formed  a  new  state  which  they  called  the  state  of  Frank- 
lin. John  Sevier,  one  of  the  heroes  of  King's  Mountain, 
was  elected  governor. 

But  now  it  was  North  Carolina's  turn  to  get  angry. 
What  right  had  John  Sevier  and  his  followers  to  make  a 
new  state  out  of  territory  that  belonged  to  North  Carolina? 


A   DAUGHTER   OF  NORTH  CAROLINA.  103 

There  were  many  people  in  the  new  state  who  did  not 
want  to  separate  from  North  Carolina.  They  would  not 
obey  the  laws  of  the  state  of  Franklin  ;  and  the  others 
would  not  obey  the  laws  of  North  Carolina.  Everything 
for  a  while  was  in  great  disorder.  But  after  a  while  the 
North  Carolina  party  got  control  and  put  an  end  to  the 
state  of  Franklin. 

After  a  few  years  North  Carolina  again  offered  to  give 
the  same  territory  to  the  United  States,  and  congress 
accepted  it  at  once.  The  people  were  satisfied  this  time. 
Later  a  new  state  was  made  and  called  Tennessee. 
John  Sevier  was  again  elected  governor.  The  first  man 
sent  by  the  new  state  to  Congress  was  a  North  Carolinian, 
who  afterwards  became  president  of  the  United  States. 
His  name  was  Andrew  Jackson. 

"  Nolichucky  Jack." — During  one  of  the  Indian  wars 
in  the  "Watauga  and  Nolichucky  settlements,  the  white 
people  took  refuge  in  a  fort.  One  day  when  no  Indians 
were  in  sight,  some  of  the  girls  ventured  outside.  Suddenly 
a  cry  was  heard  from  the  fort :  "  The  Indians  !  the  Indians  ! 
Pain,  run  !  "  The  frightened  girls  sprang  over  the  ground 
like  deer,  and  all  got  safely  through  the  gate  except  one. 
"When  this  girl  saw  that  she  could  not  reach  it  in  time  to 
get  in,  she  ran  to  another  part  of  the  fort,  and  scrambling 
over  the  wall  fell  into  the  arms  of  one  of  the  fighters.  This 
girl's  name  was  Catharine  Sherrill,  but  her  friends  called 
her  "  Bonnie  Kate."  The  man  who  caught  her  was  John 
Sevier,  whom  his  friends  nicknamed   ••  Nolichucky  Jack." 


104  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

A  few  years  later  "Bonnie  Kate"  became  the  wife  of 
"  Nolichucky  Jack." 

John  Sevier  moved  to  the  Watauga  settlement  when  he 
was  only  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  He  was  already 
famous  as  an  Indian  fighter.  It  is  said  that  he  beat  the 
Indians  in  thirty-five  battles.  He  also  beat  the  British  and 
Tories,  as  you  have  been  told,  at  King's  Mountain.  As  a 
reward  for  his  great  services  in  that  battle,  the  legislature  of 
North  Carolina  thanked  him  in  the  name  of  the  state  and 
voted  to  give  him  a  handsome  sword.  He  fought  many 
other  battles  against  the  British  in  the  Revolution. 

After  the  Revolution  he  became  governor  of  the  state  of 
Franklin.  North  Carolina  declared  that  the  people  of  the 
state  of  Franklin  were  in  rebellion  and  had  "  Nolichucky 
Jack  "  arrested  as  a  rebel.  He  was  taken  to  Morganton  to 
be  tried,  and  was  imprisoned.  A  few  of  his  friends  rode  all 
the  way  from  Tennessee  to  Morganton  to  rescue  him.  They 
brought  his  favorite  horse,  a  fleet  racer,  for  him  to  escape 
on.  A  great  crowd  was  in  the  court  house  when  they 
entered.  But  nobody  knew  them  except  Sevier.  Pointing 
to  him  their  leader  cried  out  to  the  judge :  "  When  are  you 
going  to  let  that  man  go?"  Then  everybody  jumped  up  in 
great  confusion,  and  before  the  sheriff  could  stop  him, 
"Nolichucky  Jack"  rushed  out  of  the  room,  sprang  on  the 
fleet  racer  that  was  waiting  at  the  door,  and  was  away  as 
fast  as  the  wind  to  the  mountains.  It  was  of  no  use  to  try 
to  catch  up  with  him.  In  a  very  short  time  he  was  at  home 
kissing  his  brave  wife.  "Bonnie  Kate,"  who  was  delighted  to 


A   DAUGHTER  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA.  105 

see  him  again.     He  was  never  tried  for  rebellion,  for  the 
legislature  of  North  Carolina  declared  that  he  should  go  free. 

When  Tennessee  became  a  state  in  reality,  the  people 
again  chose  "  Nolichucky  Jack  "  to  be  their  governor.  They 
elected  him  governor  six  times  and  three  times  to  congress. 
When  he  died,  at  seventy  years  of  age,  he  had  been  the 
leader  of  the  pioneers  of  Tennessee  for  more  than  forty 
years.  No  two  persons  in  Tennessee  were  more  popular 
than  "  Nolichucky  Jack  "  and  his  brave  little  wife,  "  Bonnie 
Kate." 

Three  North  Carolina  Presidents. — Three  presidents  of 
the  United  States,  who  lived  in  Tennessee,  were  born  in 
North  Carolina.  They  were  Andrew  Jackson,  James  K. 
Polk,  and  Andrew  Johnson.  Their  lives  show  that  in  our 
country  any  boy,  no  matter  how  poor  or  how  humble,  may, 
if  he  works  hard  and  is  honest,  reach  the  highest  place  in 
the  land. 

Andrew  Jackson  was  born  in  a  log  cabin,  in  the  Wax- 
haw  settlement.     It  was  then  in  Mecklenburg  county,  but  is 
now  in  Union.     When  he  was  a  boy  thir- 
teen years  old,  he  wTas  captured  by  the 
British  and  treated  so  badly  that  he  was 
almost    starved.     Once    a   British    officer 
ordered,  him  to  clean  the  officers1  boots. 
The  boy  haughtily  refused  and  the  cowardly 
officer  cut  him  across  the  face  with  his 
sword.     Jackson    bore    the    scar  all    his      ANDfiEW  jackson. 
life.     Maybe  when    he    fought   the    great    battle    of   New 


106 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


Orleans  in  1815,  and  defeated  the  British,  he  remembered 
that  scar. 

It  is  said  that  he  was  a  "  roaring,  rollicking-,  mischievous 
fellow  "  when  he  was  a  boy.    But  he  was  as  bravo  as  a  lion. 

There  was  no  danger 
that  he  feared  and  no 
hardship  that  he  could 
not  stand.  When  he 
became  a  general  his 
soldiers  called  him  '-Old 
Hickory. "  After  study- 
ing law  at  Salisbury  he 
moved  to  Tennessee. 
There  he  had  many  wild 
a  dventures  fighting  crim- 
inals and  Indians.  The  people  admired  him  for  his  courage 
and  honesty  and  elected  him  to  many  high  offices.  He  was 
always  noted  for  his  purity  of  life  and  his  great  respect  for 
women.  He  was  firm,  honest,  and  hated  meanness.  He 
was  proud  of  his  country,  and  when 
he  was  president  made  the  nations  of 
the  world  respect  her.  He  is  regarded 
as  one  of  our  greatest  presidents. 

James  Knox  Polk  was  also  born  in 
a  log  cabin  in  Mecklenburg  county.  He 
studied  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  and  was  regarded  as  the  best 
student  in  his  class.     When  he  moved 


WUTliri.ACE    OF    ANDREW    JACKSON. 


A  DAUGHTER   OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


107 


BIRTHPLACE    OF    JAMES    K.  POLK. 


to  Tennessee  he  became  a  friend  of  Andrew  Jackson.  The 
people  elected  him  to  congress  several  times,  and  he  became 
one  of  the  most  famous 
men  in  the  country.  He 
was  president  during  the 
Mexican  War,  and  to  him 
more  than  to  any  other 
man  the  United  States 
owes  all  the  territory  in- 
cluded in  the  states  of 
Texas,  California,  Nevada, 
Utah,  and  parts  of  Wyom- 
ing and  Colorado.  The 
great  historian,  Bancroft,  said  that  from  its  results  the 
administration  of  President  Polk  "was  perhaps  the  greatest 
in  our  national  history.'1 

Andrew  Johnson  was  born  in  Raleigh.  He  was  so  poor 
that  he  could  never  go  to  school.  While  the  other  boys 
were  at  school  he  was  learning  to  be  a  tailor.  He  taught 
himself  to  read  after  he  became  a 
large  boy,  and  several  years  later  his 
wife  taught  him  how  to  write. 

When  he  was  eighteen  years  old 
he  set  out  with  his  mother  and  step- 
father in  a  two-wheel  cart,  driving  a 
blind  pony,  for  Tennessee.  The  people 
along  the  way  who  laughed  at  this 
odd   party  little    dreamed  that    they 


ANDREW   JOIIXSOX. 


108 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


were  laughing  at  a  future  president  of  the  United  States. 

lie  began  life  in  Tennessee  as  a  tailor,  but  in  a  few  years 

was   elected  governor,  then    to  congress,  and  then  to  the 

United  States  senate. 
When  war  began  between 
the  North  and  the  South, 
he  opposed  secession  and 
would  not  follow  the 
South.  The  North  elected 
him  vice-president  when 
Lincoln  was  elected  presi- 
dent the  second  time.  So 
when  Lincoln  was  killed 
the  poor  Raleigh  tailor 
became  president  of  the 

United  States.     You  will  hear  more  about  him  later. 


BIKTIII'LACK    UF    ANDREW    JOIIXSOX. 


GEOGRAPHY      LESSON.— Which    is    largest,    North    Carolina   or 
Tennessee?     Find  Morganton,  Waxhaw,  Raleigh. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  Why  did  North  Carolina  offer  to  give  Tennessee  to  the  United 
States  ? 

2.  How  did  the  people  of  Tennessee  act  ahout  it? 

3.  Tell  the  story  of  the  state  of  Franklin. 

4.  Tell  how  Tennessee  Avas  born. 

5.  Tell  the  story  of  "  Noliehucky  Jack"  and  "  Bonnie  Kate." 

6.  What   three    presidents    of  the  United   States    were  born  in 
North  Carolina? 

7.  Tell  the  story  of: 

Andrew  Jackson, 
James  K.  Polk, 
Andrew  Johnson. 


JOINING   THE   UNION.  109 

XVI. 
JOINING  THE  UNION. 

How  the  Constitution  Was  Made. — While  North  Car- 
olina was  having  trouble  with  the  state  of  Franklin,  a 
great  event  happened  at  Philadelphia.  After  the  Revolution 
the  states  began  to  ask  each  other,  What  sort  of  govern- 
ment shall  we  now  have  ?  As  long  as  there  was  danger  from 
the  British  the  states  helped  each  other ;  but  as  soon  as 
this  danger  passed  away  some  of  them  began  to  quarrel. 
More  than  once  it  looked  as  if  there  would  be  blows. 
These  quarrels  alarmed  men  like  Washington.  They  saw 
that  some  way  must  be  found  to  prevent  such  disputes, 
or  there  might  be  war  between  the  states.  It  was  decided 
to  hold  another  great  convention  at  Philadelphia  to  agree 
on  a  better  plan  of  government.  The  men  who  were  sent 
from  North  Carolina  were  William  R.  Davie,  Alexander 
Martin,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  William  Blount,  and  Hugh 
Williamson.  The  convention  met  in  the  year  1787,  and 
wrote  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 

"  Constitution  or  No  Constitution." — But  no  state  was 
to  be  bound  by  this  constitution  until  the  people  accepted 
it  and  joined  the  "  Union,"  as  the  United  States  is  often 
called.  A  convention  was  held  in  July,  1788,  atHillsboro, 
to  decide  whether  North  Carolina  should  join  the  Union  or 
not.  Which  would  the  convention  do  ?  The  people  waited 
anxiously  for  an  answer  to  this  question.  In  the  convention 
the  members  spent  several  days  talking  about  the  new  consti- 


110 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


SAMUEL  JOHNSTON. 


tution.  The  leaders  of  those  who  favored  it  were  Samuel 
Johnston,  governor  of  the  state ;  James  Iredell,  who  after- 
wards became  a  great  judge ;  and 
William  R.  Davie,  who  was  after- 
wards elected  governor.  On  the 
other  side  the  leaders  were  Willie  * 
Jones,  who  was  one  of  the  foremost 
patriots  of  the  Revolution  ;  Samuel 
Spencer,  who,  like  Iredell,  became  a 
famous  judge  ;  Thomas  Person,  who 
had  been  a  general  in  the  army; 
and  Timothy  Rloodworth,  who  was 
afterwards  elected  a  United  States 
senator.  When  the  vote  was  taken  it  was  against  the  con- 
stitution. So  when  Washington  was  elected  president  of  the 
United  States,  North  Carolina  was  not  a  member  of  the 
Union.  But  soon  after  this  the  people  learned  that  some 
changes  were  to  be  made  in  the  constitution.  These  changes 
were  what  they  wanted  and  they  were  now  ready  to  join  the 
Union.  So  in  November,  1789,  another  convention  was  held, 
this  time  at  Fayetteville.  Samuel  Johnston,  the  governor 
of  the  state,  was  made  president  of  this  convention.  Soon 
after  the  members  met,  Dr.  Hugh  Williamson,  one  of  the 
leaders,  made  a  motion  to  adopt  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  Several  members  spoke  in  favor  of  it  and  a 
few  against  it.     Then  the  vote  was  taken  and  the  friends  of 


*  Pronounced  Wi-ley. 


JOINING    THE   UNION.  Ill 

the  constitution  won  the  victory.  This  was  on  November 
21,  1789,  and  on  that  clay  North  Carolina  once  more  became 
one  of  the  United  States. 

In  1889  the  people  of  Fayetteville  held  a  great  celebration 
in  honor  of  the  one-hundredth  birthday  of  this  great  event. 
The  governor  of  North  Carolina,  Daniel  G.  Fowle,  the  two 
United  State  senators,  Vance  and  Ransom,  and  a  great 
crowd  of  people  were  present.  Several  days  were  spent  in 
amusements  and  feastings.  Eloquent  speeches  were  made 
by  distinguished  men.  The  adoption  of  the  constitution  was 
the  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  Fayetteville  and  the 
celebration  was  a  fitting  memorial  of  it. 

North  Carolina's  First  Senator. — After  North  Carolina 
joined  the  Union  the  legislature  had  to  elect  two  men  to  the 
United  States  senate.  The  senate  is  part  of  congress  and 
helps  to  make  laws  for  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
Every  state  has  two  members  in  the  senate  who  are  elected 
by  the  legislature.  The  first  senator  from  North  Carolina 
was  Governor  Samuel  Johnston. 

Samuel  Johnston  became  a  leader  in  North  Carolina 
many  years  before  the  Revolution.  He  was  a  friend  of  John 
Harvey,  William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hewes,  John  Penn,  Corne- 
lius Harnett,  John  Ashe,  Richard  Caswell  and  the  other 
great  men  who  won  our  independence.  But  none  of  them 
did  more  than  he.  He  was  often  a  member  of  the  assembly 
and  was  always  found  opposing  the  tyranny  of  the  king  and 
his  governors.  After  the  death  of  John  Harvey,  Samuel 
Johnston  was  chosen  president  of  the  provincial  convention. 


112 


THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


He  was  one  of  the  first  to  stand  for  independence,  and  after 
independence  was  won  he  was  elected  governor.  But  he 
was  governor  only  two  years,  for  in  1789  the  legislature 
chose  him  the  first  senator  from  North  Carolina.  In  1800 
he  became  a  judge,  but  soon  grew  tired  of  his  office  and  gave 
it  up.  The  next  thirteen  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  his 
beautiful  home,  called  Hayes,  near  Edenton.    He  loved  books 


HAYES:    THE    COLONIAL   RESIDENCE   UF   SAMUEL   JOHNSTON,    NEAK    EDENTnN. 


and  art,  and  his  library  at  Hayes  is  one  of  the  rarest  treas- 
ures in  North  Carolina. 

The  New  Capital  of  the  New  State. — One  of  the 
important  things  that  the  convention  did  in  1788  was  to 
decide  where  the  capital  of  the  state  should  be.  During 
colonial  days  there  had  been  no  regular  capital  until  New 
Bern  was  selected  and  the  governor's  palace  was  built.     At 


JOINING    THE   UNION. 


113 


that  time  most  of  the  people  lived  in  the  East  and  could 
easily  reach  New  Bern  ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution 
the  state  had  grown  toward  the  West,  and  New  Bern  was 
too  far  in  the  East.  The  capital  ought  to  be  near  the 
center,  so  the  convention  decided  for  it  to  be  in  Wake 
county.  Three  years  later  the  assembly  voted  $20,000 
to   build   a    state    house,   and   appointed   a    committee   to 


THE   OLD   STATE   HOUSE,      BURNED   JUNE   21,  1831. 

select  the  site  for  it.  This  committee  bought  one  thousand 
acres  of  land  from  Colonel  Joel  Lane,  near  the  center  of 
Wake  county,  and  laid  off  a  town  called  Raleigh. 

The  new  state  house  was  not  at  all  like  the  fine  palace  at 
New  Bern.  It  was  a  "rude  brick"  building,  with  "barnlike, 
dingy,  reddish  walls."  In  1794  the  assembly  met  in  it 
for  the   first  time,  though   the   building   was   not   finished. 


114 


THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE 


Indeed,  it  never  was  entirely  finished,  for  in  the  morning 
of  June  21,  1831,  it  was  burned  to  the  ground.  It  would 
have  been  finished  the  next  day. 

A  Noble  Statue  Destroyed. — The  greatest  loss  by   this 
fire  was  not  the  capitol,  for  we  now  have  a  better  capitol 

than  the  old  one. 
But  in  the  old 
capitol  was  one 
of  the  greatest 
pieces  of  art  in 
the  whole  world. 
This  was  the  fa- 
mous statue  of 
George  Washing- 
ton by  Canova, 
one  of  the  great- 
est of  the  world's 
sculptors.  He 
made  it  for  North 
Carolina  from  the 
finest  Italian 
marble,  and  the  United  States  sent  a  Avar  vessel  to  bring  it 
from  Italy  to  North  Carolina.  The  state  paid  $28,000  for 
it.  In  1825  when  Lafayette  visited  the  United  States  he 
came  to  Raleigh  to  see  this  statue,  and  a  picture  was  made 
of  him  in  the  capitol  looking  at  it.  What  a  pity  that  it 
should  have  been  destroyed  !  It  could  have  been  saved  if 
the  legislature  had  voted  only  a  small   sum  of   money  to 


LAFAYETTE    LOOKING    AT    CANQVA'S   STATUE   OF    WASHINGTON' 
IN    THE   STATE    HOUSE    AT    RALEIGH. 


JO  IX IX  G    THE    UNION.  115 

make  the  doors  of  the  capitol  large  enough  for  the  statue 
to  be  carried  out.  But  some  of  the  members  were  too 
stingy  to  vote  the  money  and  this  great  piece  of  art  was  lost. 
The  capitol  has  been  rebuilt  better  than  before,  but  no  man 
can  replace  the  statue  of  Washington. 

Rebuilding-  the  Capitol. — After  the  old  state  house  was 
destroyed  efforts  were  made  by  other  towns  in  North  Caro- 
lina to  have  the  capital  moved  from  Raleigh.  But  the  legis- 
lature refused  to  do  so  and  voted  §50,000  to  have  the 
capitol  rebuilt.  Five  commissioners  were  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  work.  The  stone  for  the  building  came  from 
a  quarry  about  one  mile  from  Raleigh,  and  a  railroad  with 
cars  drawn  by  horses  was  built  for  bringing  the  stone  to 
Raleigh.  Stone  cutters  and  masons  came  from  Scotland  to 
work  on  the  building.  Some  of  them  made  their  homes  in 
Raleigh  and  their  descendants  live  there  to-day. 

The  commissioners  who  had  charge  of  the  work  were 
wise  men,  and  spent  on  the  foundation  the  entire  §50,000 
voted  by  the  assembly.  The  assembly  had  to  vote  more 
money,  and  when  the  building  was  finished  in  1840  it  had 
cost  $530,684.15.  The  capitol  stands  to-day  just  as  it  was 
when  it  was  completed  more  than  half  a  century  ago. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Raleigh.  How  far  is  it  from  New 
Bern?  Edenton?  Wilmington?  Goldsboro?  Greensboro?  Asheville? 
How  near  the  center  of  the  state  is  it? 

REVIEW.— 

1.     Why  was  a  convention  held  at  Philadelphia    in    17S7,  and 
what  was  done  there?     Who  went  from  North  Carolina? 


116  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

2.  Tell  about  the  convention  at  Hillsboro  in  1788.     At  Fayette- 
ville  in  1789. 

3.  Who  was  our  first  United  States  senator? 

4.  Tell  the  story  of  his  services  to  the  state. 

5.  Tell  the  story  of  the  capitol. 

6.  What  famous  statue  was  destroyed  when  the  state  house  was 
burned '? 

7.  Tell  how  the  capitol  was  rebuilt. 


XVII. 
THE  INDEPENDENT  STATE. 

How  a  Great  School  "Was  Started. — The  patriotic  men 
who  wrote  the  constitution  of  1776  knew  that  they  could 
not  have  a  great  free  state  unless  the  people  were  educated. 
So  they  said  in  that  constitution  that  a  great  school  should 
be  built,  called  a  University,  where  the  young  men  of 
North  Carolina  could  be  taught  "  all  useful  learning."  This 
work  could  not  be  done  during  the  war,  but  in  1789  the 
assembly  appointed  several  men,  called  "trustees,1'  to  have 
the  University  started  and  opened  to  students.  Many 
of  the  great  men  we  have  been  reading  about  were  among 
these  trustees :  Samuel  Johnston,  James  Iredell,  Samuel 
Ashe,  Samuel  Spencer,  Joseph  Graham,  Thomas  Person, 
Willie  Jones,  William  R.  Davie,  and  others.  They  selected 
Chapel  Hill,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  North  Caro- 
lina, as  the  place  for  the  University,  and  on  October  12,  1793, 
the  first  building  was  begun.     Two  years  later  the  University 


THE  INDEPENDENT  STA  TE. 


117 


was  opened,  with  Hinton  James,  of  Wilmington,  as  the  first 
student.  The  men  who  did  more  than  any  others  to  found 
the  University  were  William  R.  Davie,  who  is  called  "  The 
Father  of  the  University,1'  and  Joseph  Caldwell,  the  first 
president.  Many  of  North  Carolina's  greatest  men  received 
their  education  at  the  University,  besides  hundreds  of  others 
all  over  the  South.  Our  forefathers  did  no  better  thing 
for  the  state  than  the  building  of  this  great  school. 


OLD   SOUTH    BUILDING,. UNIVERSITY    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA. 

Begun  1798.     Finished  18H. 


"  The  Father  of  the  University." — One  day  in  October, 
1793,  not  many  miles  from  the  little  town  of  Hillsboro,  a 
strange  procession  marched  through  the  woods  ■  of  Orange 
county.  The  forest  was  brilliant  with  the  autumn  leaves  of 
the  sweet-gums  and  the  dogwoods  and  the  maples.  But 
even  these  were  scarcely  more  striking  than  were  the  cos- 
tumes of  some    of  those  who  marched  in  the  procession. 


118 


THE   OLD  NORTH  STAT/-. 


They  wore  the  uniforms  of  the  Order  of  the  Masons  and  they 
walked  with  a  steady  military  tread.  At  their  head  was  a 
tall  and  imposing  man  in  the  costume  of  the  grand  master  of 
the  Masons.  Who  was  he,  and  what  were  these  men  doing 
there  in  the  wild  woods  of  North  Carolina?  They  were 
there  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  first  building  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  and  the  man  who  led  the  proces- 
sion was  William  Richardson  Davie. 

No  other  man  did  so  much  as  lie  to  found  the  University. 
It  was  he  who  wrote  the  law  establishing  it ;  his  eloquence 

persuaded  the  legislature 
to  vote  money  for  it ;  he 
was  one  of  the  first 
trustees ;  he  laid  the 
corner-stone;  and  he 
was  ever  one  of  its 
warmest  friends.  This 
is  why  we  call  him  the 
"  Father  of  the  Univer- 
sity." No  man  in  our 
history  has  a  prouder 
title. 

Davie    was    born    in 

England,  and    came    to 

North  Carolina  when  he 

was  a  boy.     But  when  the  Revolution  began,  though  he 

was   only  twenty   years  old,   he  entered  the  army  of  the 

patriots    and  fought   bravely   through   the    war.     In   many 


WILLIAM    K.    DAVIE. 


THE  INDEPENDENT  STATE.  119 

a  battle  field  in  South  Carolina  and  in  North  Carolina 
he  proved  his  devotion  to  liberty.  When  Cornwallis  came 
to  Charlotte,  Davie  led  the  soldiers  who  earned  the  title  of 
"Hornets'  Nest"  for  the  little  village.  General  Greene  ap- 
pointed him  to  supply  his  army  with  provisions,  and  his  suc- 
cess was  due  largely  to  Davie's  work.  Davie  was  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Guilford  Court  House  and  did  good  service. 

After  the  war  he  settled  at  Halifax  and  practiced  law.  He 
was  eloquent,  graceful,  and  had  good  manners,  and  soon  be- 
came a  leader  in  the  state.  The  legislature  elected  him  to 
the  convention  that  wrote  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  having  the  constitution 
adopted  in  North  Carolina  and  a  few  years  later  was  elected 
governor.  But  he  was  governor  less  than  a  year  because  the 
United  States  needed  him  for  other  work. 

At  that  time  France,  who  had  helped  us  so  much  in  the 
Revolution,  was  behaving  badly  toward  the  United  States  and 
there  was  clanger  of  war  between  the  two  countries.  The 
United  States  began  to  prepare  for  it  and  President  Adams 
appointed  Davie  a  general  in  the  United  States  army.  But 
the  United  States  did  not  want  war,  and  President  Adams 
decided  to  send  three  men  to  France  to  settle  the  quarrel 
peaceably  if  possible.  They  were  called  ••  commissioners.'" 
General  Davie  was  one  of  them.  The  great  Napoleon  was 
then  the  real  ruler  of  France.  He  received  the  commission- 
ers kindly,  heard  what  they  had  to  say,  and  agreed  to  settle 
the  dispute  without  war.  Davie  and  his  companions  de- 
serve great  praise  for  their  success  in  their  difficult  work,  for 


120  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATU. 

war  at  that  time  would  have  been  a  bad  thing  for  the  United 
States.  This  was  General  Davie's  last  public  service.  After- 
wards he  moved  to  his  farm  in  South  Carolina,  where  he  died. 
A  county  in  North  Carolina  has  been  named  in  his  honor. 

Again  at  "War. — One  of  the  men  who  studied  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  won  great  fame  in  the  war 
which  broke  out  with  England  in  1812.  He  was  Johnston 
Blakely,  of  Wilmington.  At  first  he  commanded  the  United 
States  war-vessel  "Enterprise,1'  and  proved  himself  such  a 
good  captain  that  he  was  given  a  larger  vessel,  called  the 
"Wasp."  And  what  a  sting  this  "Wasp"  had  for  British 
vessels !  Captain  Blakely  captured  a  large  number  of 
merchant  vessels,  and  in  three  of  the  hottest  battles  of 
the  war  captured  the  British  men-of-war,  "Reindeer," 
"Avon,"  and  "Atlanta."  After  this  he  sailed  away  to  sea 
and  was  never  seen  again.  He  left  a  little  baby  girl  who 
was  educated  by  the  state  in  honor  of  her  father's  great 
deeds.  President  Roosevelt  says  there  was  no  better 
captain  in  the  war  than  Captain  Blakely. 

Another  North  Carolina  captain  who  won  fame  was  Otway 
Burns.  With  his  vessel,  the  "  Snap-Dragon,"  he  sailed  up 
and  down  the  Atlantic  coast,  capturing  many  English  vessels 
and  destroying  the  British  trade.  He  had  many  wild  adven- 
tures, and  his  name  became  a  terror  to  British  merchants.. 
Finally  the  English  government  sent  a  war-vessel  called  the 
"Leopard"  to  capture  Captain  Burns.  The  "Leopard" 
succeeded  in  capturing  the  "  Snap-Dragon"  while  Captain 
Burns  was  on  shore,  sick. 


THE  INDEPENDENT  STATE.  121 

The  Nation's  Guest. — But  let  us  leave  the  story  of  the 
war  and  read  about  more  interesting  events.  One  of  these 
happened  in  1825.  Every  North  Carolina  boy  and  girl 
ought  to  remember  the  name  of  Lafayette,  the  brave  young 
Frenchman  who  helped  Washington  win  our  independence 
in  the  Revolution.  The  American  people  loved  Lafayette 
and  were  grateful  for  what  he  did  for  them,  so  there  was 
great  rejoicing  when  they  learned  that  he  was  coming  to 
this  country  on  a  visit.  Never  before  did  any  man  receive 
such  a  welcome  in  our  country.  Thousands  of  people  met 
him  everywhere  and  did  all  they  could  to  show  how  much 
they  loved  him. 

He  reached  North  Carolina  in  February,  1825.  The  legis- 
lature appointed  an  escort  to  welcome  him  and  accompany 
him  through  the  state.  The  governor,  Hutchings  G.  Burton, 
was  instructed  to  entertain  him  at  the  expense  of  the  state. 
All  along  his  route  crowds  of  people  cheered  him  as  he 
travelled  towards  Ptaleigh.  At  Raleigh  he  paid  a  visit  to  the 
capitol  to  see  the  great  statue  of  Washington  made  by 
Canova,  the  great  Italian  sculptor.  From  Raleigh  he  went 
to  Fayetteville.  Is  there  a  boy  or  girl  in  North  Carolina 
who  cannot  guess  why  the  name  of  Cross  Creek  was  changed 
after  the  Revolution  to  Fayetteville? 

At  Fayetteville  he  had  the  greatest  welcome  of  all.  Such 
a  crowd  there  was  to  greet  him  !  Such  firing  of  cannon ! 
Such  beating  of  drums  !  Such  blowing  of  horns !  And 
such  cheering  and  waving  of  flags  !  It  was  a  great  day  in 
the  history  of  the  little  town.     There  were  public  speeches 


122  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

of  welcome,  and  banquets,  and  balls,  and  drilling  of  soldiers, 
all  in  honor  of  the  "  Nation's  Guest.1'  A  great  public  din- 
ner was  given  him  just  before  he  bade  the  town  good  bye. 
One  of  the  toasts  drunk  in  his  honor  was  this : 

"  Lafayette — The  chieftain  fights  for  the  hearths  and 
liberties  of  his  clan,  the  patriot  for  his  country's  rights ;  but 
let  us  drink  to  the  health  of  the  patriotic  hero  whose  devo- 
tion to  liberty  is  not  confined  by  climes  nor  by  countries." 

That  same  afternoon  Lafayette  bade  his  friends  good-bye. 
The  soldiers  escorted  him  to  the  South  Carolina  line,  where 
he  was  met  by  the  South  Carolina  escort.  Nowhere  had 
the  hero  been  more  welcomed  than  in  North  Carolina.  The 
town  of  Fayetteville  felt  twice  honored — because  it  bore  his 
name  and  because  he  had  visited  it. 

Another  Great  Convention. — Many  people  thought  that 
the  time  had  now  come  when  some  changes  ought  to  be 
made  in  the  constitution  of  the  state.  These  changes  were 
discussed  for  several  years,  and  in  1835  a  convention  was 
held  at  Raleigh  to  adopt  them.  Some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished men  in  the  state  were  members  of  this  con- 
vention. 

Six  of  them  were  governors  of  North  Carolina.  They 
were  :  Gabriel  Holmes  of  Sampson  county  ;  John  Owen 
of  Bladen  county ;  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight-  of  Craven 
county  ;  John  M.  Morehead  of  Guilford  county,  who  after- 
wards was  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad  ;  David 
L.  Swain  of  Buncombe  county,  who  became  president  of  the 
University  ;  and  John  Branch  of  Halifax  county,  who  was 


THE  INDEPENDENT  STATE.  123 

secretary  of  the  United  States  navy  when  Andrew  Jackson 
was  president  of  the  United  States. 

Four  men  who  were  distinguished  judges  were  John  D. 
Toomer  of  Cumberland  county ;  Joseph  J.  Daniel  of  Hali- 
fax-, Asa  Biggs  of  Martin  county,  who  in  1861  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  secession  convention ;  and  William  Gaston  of 
Craven  county,  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  in  North  Carolina. 

Louis  D.  "Wilson  of  Edgecombe  county  became  a  soldier 
in  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  when  he  died  left  a  large  sum 
of  money  to  the  poor  of  Edgecombe  county.  Wilson 
county  was  named  in  his  honor.  Calvin  Graves  of  Caswell 
county  was  afterwards  speaker  of  the  state  senate,  and  his 
vote  gave  North  Carolina  the  great  railroad  from  Morehead 
City  across  the  state.  Welclon  N.  Edwards  of  Warren 
county  was  afterwards  president  of  the  convention  of  1861 
which  declared  North  Carolina  out  of  the  Union.  But  the 
most  famous  man  in  the  convention  was  Nathaniel  Macon 
of  Warren  county. 

Nathaniel  Macon. — No  other  man  ever  lived  in  North 
Carolina  who  served  the  public  as  long  as  Nathaniel  Macon. 
He  left  his  studies  at  college  when  he  was  hardly  more  than 
a  boy  to  become  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.  Several  times 
he  was  asked  to  become  an  officer  but  would  not  do  so. 
He  remained  a  private  and  would  never  take  any  pay  for 
his  service  in  the  army.  While  he  was  in  the  army  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  by  his  county  without  his  knowl- 
edge. At  first  he  refused  to  go,  because  he  said  he  had  seen 
the  faces  of  the  British  many  times  but  had  never  seen  their 


121  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

backs,  and  he  wanted  to  stay  in  the  army  until  lie  saw  their 
backs  also.  But  General  Greene  begged  him  to  go  to  the 
legislature,  saying  that  he  could  do  his  country  more  good 
there  than  in  the  army.     So  he  went. 

He  staid  in  the  legislature  five  years.  A  few  years  later 
he  was  elected  to  congress,  where  he  remained  for  twenty- 
four  years.  Then  the  legislature  sent  him  to  the  United 
States  senate.  He  was  in  the  senate  thirteen  years.  Alto- 
gether he  served  the  state  and  nation  as  a  lawmaker  for 
forty-two  years.  For  five  years  he  was  speaker  in  congress 
and  for  two  years  was  president  of  the  senate. 

When  he  became  seventy  years  old  he  gave  up  his  office 
because  he  declared  he  was  getting  too  old  to  stay  in  the 
senate  any  longer.  One  of  his  best  friends  was  the  famous 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  Virginia.  In  his  will  Randolph 
said  of  Macon  : 

"  He  is  the  wisest,  the  purest,  and  the  best  man  that  I 
ever  knew." 

Changes  in  the  Constitution. — The  convention  met  at 
Raleigh  June  4,  1835,  and  elected  Nathaniel  Macon  presi- 
dent. This  convention  made  some  very  important  changes 
in  the  constitution.  One  of  them  was  to  take  away  from 
the  towns  of  Edenton,  New  Bern,  Wilmington,  Halifax, 
Fayetteville,  Hillsboro  and  Salisbury,  the  right  to  send  a 
delegate  each  to  the  legislature.  These  towns  were  called 
"borough  towns,"  but  the  convention  said  there  should  be 
no  more  borough  towns  in  North  Carolina.  The  convention 
also  changed  the  constitution  so  as  to  give  every  county  its 


THE  INDEPENDENT  STATE.  125 

just  share  of  the  members  of  the  legislature.  This  was  be- 
cause the  western  counties  had  complained  that  the  eastern 
counties  had  more  than  their  share.  It  was  also  decided 
that  the  legislature  should  not  meet  every  year,  but  once 
every  two  years,  as  we  now  have  it.  Till  1835  negroes  who 
were  not  slaves  had  been  allowed  to  vote ;  but  the  conven- 
tion changed  the  constitution  to  prevent  this. 

An  important  change  was  made  as  to  who  could  hold 
office  in  North  Carolina.  The  old  constitution  declared  that 
no  man  should  hold  an  office  who  denied  "the  being  of 
God  or  the  truth  of  the  Protestant  religion."  Many  people 
thought  this  kept  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
from  holding  offices  and  they  wanted  it  changed.  Judge 
William  Gaston  was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  but  he  held  the  office  of  judge.  He  made  one  of 
the  greatest  speeches  made  in  the  convention  in  favor  of  the 
change.  The  members  agreed  with  him,  and  the  word 
"Protestant  *1  was  changed  to  "  Christian." 

The  last  important  change  was  in  the  way  the  governor 
should  be  elected.  Before  this  time  he  had  been  elected  by 
the  legislature.  But  this  was  changed  so  he  should  be 
elected  by  the  people.  We  still  elect  our  governor  in  this 
way.  The  first  governor  elected  by  the  people  was  Edward 
B.  Dudley  of  Wilmington. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Chapel  Hill.  The  old  borough  towns 
in  North  Carolina. 

REVIEW.— 

1.     Tell  how  the  University    was  begun.      Who    is    called   the 


126  THE   OLD   NORTH  STATE. 

"  Father  of  the  University,"   and  why  is  he  so  called?     What  other 
services  did  he  render  ? 

2.  Tell  the  story  of  the  "Wasp"  and  the  "Snap-Dragon." 

3.  What  visitor  came  to  North  Carolina  in  1825?     How  was  he 
received  ? 

4.  Who  were  the  leaders  in  the  convention  of  1835? 

5.  Who   was  elected  president?     Tell  the    story   of   Nathaniel 
Macon. 

6.  What  changes  were  made  in  the  constitution? 


XVIII. 

PROGRESS. 

Education. — So  much  has  been  said  in  this  story  about 
war  and  soldiers,  that  some  boys  and  girls  may  think  the 
chief  business  of  a  state  is  to  fight,  and  that  a  man  cannot 
be  a  hero  unless  he  is  a  soldier.  But  this  is  not  true.  The 
chief  business  of  a  state  is  to  keep  peace  and  order  among 
the  people,  and  many  of  our  greatest  men  never  saw  a  battle. 
The  best  way  for  a  state  to  have  order  and  prosperity  is  to 
educate  the  people.  This  is  what  the  men  thought  who 
wrote  the  constitution  in  1776,  and  who  built  the  University 
in  1793.  There  were  many  other  men  in  North  Carolina 
who  thought  the  same  thing,  and  some  of  these  became  the 
builders  of  great  schools.  At  Salem  in  1802  a  school  for 
girls  was  opened  by  the  Moravians.  It  is  the  oldest  school 
for  girls  in  North  Carolina.  After  several  years  other  well- 
known  schools  for  girls  were  started  at  Raleigh,  Greensboro, 


PROGRESS. 


127 


and  other  places.  About  the  same  time  several  of  our 
greatest  schools  for  boys  were  opened  :  Wake  Forest  College 
near  Raleigh ;  Trinity  College,  not  far  from  Greensboro ; 
Davidson  College,  a  few  miles  from  Charlotte  ;  and  Guilford 
College,  near  where  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House  was 
fought. 

Schools  for  the  Little  Folk. — But  these  schools  were  all 
for  the  larger  boys  and  girls  only.  There  were  some  wise 
men  who  thought  the  state 
ought  to  have  schools  for  the 
little  folk.  Three  great  men  did 
more  to  have  these  schools 
started  in  North  Carolina  than 
any  others,  and  we  must  not 
forget  their  names.  They  were 
Archibald  D.  Murphey,  who  was 
a  great  lawyer  and  judge  ;  Jo- 
seph Caldwell,  who  was  a  great 
teacher ;  and  Calvin  II.  Wiley, 
who  was  a  great  superintendent. 
They  had  many  difficulties  in  their  way,  but  they  worked 
hard  and  would  not  give  up. 

How  the  Schools  Were  Begun. — Judge  Murphey  read  to 
the  assembly  a  plan  that  he  thought  of  for  these  schools. 
His  plan  was  so  good  that  he  is  called  "  The  Father  of  the 
Public  Schools."  Then  Dr.  Caldwell  and  other  men  wrote 
letters  to  the  newspapers  and  made  speeches  to  the  people 
in  favor   of  Judge    Murphey 's  plan.     They  persuaded    the 


ARCHIBALD    II.  MURPHEY. 


128 


THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


assembly  to  vote  a  small  sum  of  money  for  Hie  schools. 
Afterwards  more  money  was  voted,  and  in  1840  the  schools 
were  opened.  But  for  many  years  they  did  not  do  very 
well.  Then  in  1852  the  assembly  put  Calvin  II.  Wiley  in 
charge  of  them.  He  was  called  the  "  Superintendent  of 
Common  Schools.1'  For  thirteen  years  he  remained  super- 
intendent, and  made  the  schools  the  best  in  all  the  South. 
Thousands  of  children  went  to  these  public  schools,  and 
everybody  in  North  Carolina  was  proud  of  them. 

Calvin  Henderson  Wiley. — None  of  the  men  we  have 
read  about  did  more  for  North  Carolina  than  Calvin  H. 
Wiley.  He  fought  many  battles  for  the  state,  but  his  battles 
were  not  against  the  Indians  or  the  British.  They  were 
fought  against  a  worse  foe  than  either  of  these — Ignorance. 
Wiley  studied  at  the  University  and  graduated  with  high 

honors.  He  then  practiced  law 
a  few  years,  but  finally  decided  to 
close  his  office  and  begin  his  battle 
against  Ignorance. 


The  people  of  Guilford  county 
elected  him  to  the  legislature.     He 
worked  hard  there  for  the  public 
schools  and  spoke   eloquently  for 
them.      When  the   legislature  de- 
cided to  elect  a  superintendent  of 
the  public  schools  of  the  state,  everybody  said  that  Calvin 
H.  Wiley  was  the  man  to  elect.    So  he  was  chosen  in  1852. 
No  man  in  the  history  of  the  state  ever  had  a  harder  task. 


CALVIN    II.  WILEY. 


PROGRESS.  129 

He  found  that  the  public  school  money  was  being  wasted. 
There  were  hardly  any  good  school  houses.  The  teachers 
were  very  poor.  The  children  were  not  going  to  school 
and  the  people  cared  very  little  about  education. 

But  Wiley  made  up  his  mind  to  change  all  this.  He  rode 
nearly  all  over  the  state  in  his  buggy,  talking  to  the  people 
about  education  until  he  got  them  interested  in  their  schools. 
He  had  better  school  houses  built.  He  improved  the 
teachers.  He  urged  the  children  to  go  to  school.  When 
he  began  there  were  only  800  public  school  teachers  in  the 
state.  He  soon  increased  the  number  to  2,286.  There 
were  only  1,905  public  schools  being  taught.  In  five  years 
he  brought  the  number  up  to  2,854.  There  were  only 
83,373  children  going  to  the  public  schools.  In  seven  years 
he  had  increased  the  number  to  116,567. 

Everybody  trusted  him,  and  the  legislature  elected  him 
superintendent  six  times.  Then  the  war  came;  the  South 
was  defeated,  and  everything  was  turned  topsy-turvy.  The 
public  schools  had  to  be  closed.  But  many  thousands  of 
boys  and  girls  had  received  an  education  in  these  schools 
that  they  could  never  have  had  if  Calvin  H.  Wiley  had  not 
worked  for  them. 

Three  "Wonderful  Schools. — Many  of  those  children 
who  went  to  the  public  schools  thought  they  had  a  very 
hard  time  studying  their  lessons  and  sometimes  wished  they 
had  none  to  study.  But  suppose  they  had  not  been  able  to 
see,  nor  hear,  nor  speak !  Then  they  would  have  thought, 
How  easy  it  would  be  to  learn  our  lessons  if  we  could  only 


130  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

see  our  books  and  ask  the  teacher  questions  and  hear  what 
she  says!  There  were  hundreds  of  children  in  North 
Carolina  who  could  do  none  of  these  things,  and  yet  some 
of  them  studied  hard  and  learned  quickly.  What  a  wonder- 
ful thing-  it  is  to  teach  them!  The  first  school  for  these 
children  in  North  Carolina  was  opened  at  Raleigh  in  1845, 
with  only  seven  pupils.  Now  there  are  three  such  schools 
in  the  state,  and  hundreds  of  deaf  and  dumb  children,  and 
hundreds  of  children  who  are  blind,  go  to  them  and  learn 
to  read  and  to  write  and  to  do  many  useful  things. 

"What  a  "Wonderful  Woman  Did. — We  have  been  read- 
ing about  the  great  things  that  great  men  have  done  for 
North  Carolina.  We  are  now  to  learn  the  story  of  what  a 
great  woman  did.  Her  name  was  Dorothea  Dix.  She 
came  all  the  way  from  Massachusetts  to  North  Carolina  to 
ask  the  assembly  to  vote  money  for  a  home,  or  asylum, 
where  insane  persons  would  be  kindly  treated  and  taken 
care  of.  There  had  never  been  such  a  place  in  North 
Carolina,  and  most  of  these  poor  people  were  locked  up  in 
filthy  jails  and  cold  pens,  where  they  suffered  much.  More 
than  once  the  assembly  had  been  asked  to  build  an  asylum 
for  them,  but  the  members  would  not  vote  the  money  for  it. 

Then  Dorothea  Dix  came,  but  at  first  most  of  the  mem- 
bers would  not  listen  to  what  she  said.  She  worked  hard, 
but  could  do  nothing  until  she  asked  James  Co  Dobbin  to 
help  her.  He  gladly  promised,  and  made  a  great  speech 
in  the  assembly  in  favor  of  the  asylum.  After  hearing  this 
speech  the  members  voted  the  money,  and  a  great  building 


PROGRESS.  131 

was  erected  at  Raleigh.  It  is  on  a  beautiful  hill,  selected  by 
Miss  Dix  herself,  and  is  now  called  "  Dix  Hill." 

There  are  three  such  asylums  in  North  Carolina  to-day. 
Large  sums  of  money  are  spent  every  year  by  the  State  in 
caring  for  the  insane.  We  owe  this  wonderful  work  to 
Dorothea  Dix  and  James  C.  Dobbin. 

Internal  Improvements. — For  many  years  after  the 
Revolution,  North  Carolina  did  not  grow  as  fast  as  some  of 
the  other  states.  What  was  the  trouble  ?  Most  men  said  it 
was  because  the  planters  could  not  get  their  products  to 
market ;  and  before  people  would  come  to  North  Carolina 
to  live,  the  state  must  build  roads,  dig  canals,  and  deepen 
her  rivers.  Such  things  as  these  are  called  "  internal  im- 
provements." 

People  now  began  to  talk  about  internal  improvements, 
to  write  letters  to  the  papers  about  them,  and  to  hold  great 
meetings  all  over  the  state  to  decide  on  what  should  be 
done.  All  this,  after  a  while,  led  to  work  on  some  of  the 
rivers,  which  were  made  wider. and  deeper  so  that  larger 
boats  could  sail  on  them.  One  or  two  canals  were  also  duer, 
the  most  important  one  being  the  canal  through  the  Great 
Dismal  Swamp.  This  great  canal  is  still  used  by  hundreds 
of  vessels  every  year. 

Railroads. — But  the  most  important  work  was  the  build- 
ing of  railroads.  When  Samuel  Johnston  went  from  Eden- 
ton  to  attend  the  convention  at  Hillsboro  in  1788,  he  rode 
horseback.  It  was  a  hard,  rough  journey,  and  he  was  several 
days  on  the  road.    But  to-day  when  a  man  goes  from  Eden- 


132 


THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


Jui-Kril    CAI.liWKLL. 


ton  to  attend  the  assembly  at  Raleigh,  he  takes  a  comfort- 
able seat  in  a  good  coach,  and  after  a  pleasant  ride  of  a  few 

hours  he  meets  his  friends  at 
the  capital.  What  a  wonder- 
ful change  this  is  !  Yet  there 
were  some  men  years  ago 
who  said  railroads  would  ruin 
the  country ! 

In  1827  Joseph  Caldwell, 
president  of  the  University, 
urged  that  a  railroad  be  built 
from  New  Bern  right  through 
the  state  to  Asheville.  But 
what  a  strange  railroad  he  was 
thinking  of!  It  was  to  have  wooden  rails,  and  the  cars  were 
to  be  pulled  by  horses. 
It  was  not  built,  but 
his  plan  made  people 
begin  to  think  about 
the  building  of  rail- 
roads. A  few  years 
later  work  was  begun 
on  two  railroads, 
which  were  com- 
pleted in  1840.  One 
ran  between  Wilming- 
ton and  WTeldon  ;  the 
other  between  Raleigh  and  Gaston. 


JOHN    M.   MOREHEAD. 


Later  it  was  carried  to 


LEAVING   THE   UNION.  133 

Weldon.  Another  railroad  was  begun  between  Goldsboro  and 
Charlotte ;  then  it  was  carried  to  Beaufort  and  to  Asheville. 
The  two  men  who  did  more  to  have  this  railroad  built  than 
any  others  were  Calvin  Graves  and  John  M.  Morehead. 
Now  there  are  thousands  of  miles  of  railroads  in  the  state, 
and  we  can  go  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other  just  as 
Joseph  Caldwell  planned. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Salem;  Wake  Forest;  Davidson; 
Guilford  College.  Where  is  Trinity  College  now  ?  If  a  man  sailed  up 
Cape  Fear  River  from  the  mouth,  what  towns  would  he  pass? 
What  on  Tar  River?  The  Roanoke?  The  Neuse?  Where  is  the 
Great  Dismal  Swamp?  Riding  from  Wilmington  to  Weldon  on  the 
railroad,  what  are  the  principal  towns  that  one  would  pass  through? 
From  Raleigh  to  Weldon  ?     From  Beaufort  to  Charlotte  ?    To  Asheville  ? 

REVIEW.— Tell  about— 

1.  The  beginnings  of  education  in  North  Carolina. 

2.  The  schools  for  the  little  folk. 

3.  Calvin  H.  Wiley. 

4.  The  schools  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  the  blind. 

5.  The  insane  asylum. 

6.  Internal  improvements. 

7.  The  building  of  railroads. 


¥  ¥ 

XIX. 

LEAVING  THE  UNION. 

"  Uncle  Randall  "  and  "  Mars  George." — "  Uncle  Ran- 
dall "  is  an  old  gray-haired  negro,  with  wrinkled  face  and 
bent  back.     He  was  once  a  slave,  and  "  Mars  George  ,1  was 


134 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


"  UNCLE    RANDALL.' 


his  master.  When  they  were  boys  they  were  great  friends 
and  playmates.  They  roamed  about  the  farm  together, 
riding  the  colts,  fishing  and  swim- 
ming in  the  pond,  and  hunting  squir- 
rels down  on  the  creek  bank.  But 
after  they  became  men  Randall  had 
to  go  to  work  in  the  cotton  patch, 
and  everything  he  made  belonged  to 
his  master.  "Mars  George"  was 
always  good  to  "  Uncle  Randall," 
and  " Uncle  Randall"  loved  "Mars 
George."  "  Uncle  Randall "  is  not  a 
slave  now,  and  is  too  old  to  do  much 
work,  but  he  still  lives  on  the  old  plantation,  and  "  Mars 
George"  still  takes  good  care  of  him.  "Mars  George's" 
grandchildren  all  love  old  "  Uncle 
Randall,"  because  he  tells  them 
stories  of  what  he  and  "  Mars  George  " 
used  to  do  when  they  were  boys  to- 
gether on  the  farm.  They  call  him 
"  Uncle  "  because  he  is  so  old.  There 
were  many  such  slaves  as  "  Uncle 
Randall,"  and  many  such  masters  as 
"Mars  George,"  in  North  Carolina, 
and  the  other  southern  states,  when  they  were  boys. 

What  People  Thought  About  Slavery. — When  the 
Revolution  began,  all  the  states  had  slaves.  But  in  the 
North   the   people    did  not  need   them    as   much   as   they 


AN    OLD   SLAVE    "MAMMY. 


LEAVING    THE   UNION. 


135 


did  in  the  South,  so  they  soon  got  rid  of  their  slaves. 
In  the  South  there  were  great  plantations  of  cotton  and 
corn,  and  the  people  wanted  the  slaves  to  work  these 
farms.  In  North  Carolina  most  of  the  slaves  and  their 
masters  were  like  "  Uncle  Randall 11  and  "  Mars  George," 
but  in  some  states  the  slaves  were    not    treated    so    well. 

Many  people,  most  of  whom  lived  in  the  North,  thought 
it  was  wrong  to  own  slaves.  But  the  southern  people  did 
not  think  so.  They  said  their  slaves  were  treated  kindly, 
and  it  was  better  for  them  to  be  here  than  in  Africa, 
where  their  forefathers  had  lived.  Great  disputes  arose 
over  this  question.  Both  sides  became  angry  and  said 
many  unkind  things  about  each  other.  Thousands  of  men 
in  the  North  wanted  to  make  the  South  free  all  the 
slaves.  The  southern  people  said  that  they  had  a  right 
to  their  slaves,  and  if  the  North  tried  to  free  them,  the 
South  would  separate  from  the  North  and  form  another 
government.  We  shall  now  see 
how  this  led  to  a  great  war. 

Secession.  —  The  southern 
states  thought  that  the  North  was 
trying  to  destroy  the  rights  given 
to  them  by  the  constitution,  and 
that  the  only  way  they  could  pre- 
vent it  was  by  separating  from  the 
North.  Such  a  separation  is  called  "  secession.'"  But  did 
a  state  have  a  right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  ?  In  the 
North  the  people  said,  No  ;  in  the  South  they  said,  Yes.     So 


CONFEDERATE   FLAGS. 


136  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

in  the  year  1860  the  state  of  South  Carolina  declared  that  she 
was  no  longer  a  member  of  the  United  States.  Six  other 
states  soon  did  likewise.  Then  these  seven  states  formed  a 
new  government  called  the  "Confederate  States  of  America," 
and  invited  all  the  other  southern  states  to  join  them. 

"  You  Can  Get  No  Troops  from  North  Carolina." — 
Should  North  Carolina  accept  this  invitation  ?  Many  people 
in  the  state  wanted  to  do  so  at  once.  But  most  of  the 
people  loved  the  old  Union  which  their  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers had  fought  so  hard  for  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge, 
Guilford  Court  House,  and  Yorktown.  They  did  not  want 
to  leave  this  Union  if  they  could  help  it.  So  at  first  they 
refused  to  join  the  Confederate  States.  Peace  was  what 
they  wanted,  and  they  did  all  they  could  to  keep  the  country 
out  of  war. 

But  war  came,  anyhow,  and  President  Lincoln  called  on 
North  Carolina  to  send  troops  to  fight  against  the  South. 
Then  Governor  Ellis  replied  :  "  You  can  get  no  troops  from 
North  Carolina  ; 11  and  all  the  people  cried  out,  "  If  we  must 
fight,  let  us  fight  by  the  side  of  our  friends  and  neighbors.'" 
So  on  May  20,  1861,  a  convention  met  in  Raleigh  to  decide 
what  North  Carolina  should  do. 

North  Carolina  Leaves  the  Union. — This  convention 
contained  one  hundred  and  twenty  members.  The  two 
leading  men  in  it  were  Weldon  N.  Edwards,  who  favored 
secession,  and  William  A.  Graham,  who  opposed  it. 
Edwards,  who  had.  been  a  member  of  the  convention  of 
1835,  was  elected  president. 


LEAVING   THE   UNION. 


137 


WILLIAM    A.   GRAHAM. 


William  A.  Graham  was  perhaps  the  best  known  man  in 
the  state.  He  had  been  United  States  senator,  twice  gover- 
nor of  North  Carolina,  secre- 
tary of  the  United  States 
navy,  and  afterwards  was  a 
member  of  the  Confederate 
States  senate.  While  he  was 
secretary  of  the  navy  he  sent 
an  expedition  to  Japan  which 
opened  that  country  to  the 
world.  Before  this  time  the 
Japanese  would  not  let  other 
people  come  into  their 
country,  nor  trade  with  them. 
The  Whigs  nominated  Graham 

for  vice-president  of  the  United  States  when  General  W.  S. 
Scott  ran  for  the  presidency,  but  he  was  defeated.  It  is 
said  that  he  delivered  the  best  speech  made  in  the  con- 
vention of  1861. 

The  first  thing  the  convention  did,  after  electing  officers, 
was  to  declare  that  North  Carolina  was  no  longer  a  member 
of  the  old  Union.  This  is  known  as  the  "Ordinance  of 
Secession,"  and  it  was  adopted  May  20, 1861.  The  conven- 
tion next  declared  that  North  Carolina  should  join  the  new 
Union  of  southern  states,  called  the  Confederate  States  of 
America.  These  two  actions  meant  that  in  the  war  which 
had  begun  North  Carolina  was  to  fight  on  the  side  of  the 
South. 


138  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  Tell  about  slavery  in  North  Carolina. 

2.  What  did  the  people  think  about  slavery? 

3.  How  did  it.  lead  to  trouble  between  the  North  and  the  South  V 

4.  What,  is  meant  by  "secession"?     What  did  the  South  think 
about,  it?  the  North? 

5.  What  did  North  Carolina  think  about  it  ? 

(!.      What  were  the  Confederate  States  of  America? 

7.  When  President  Lincoln  asked  Governor  Ellis  for  troops  what 
did  he  reply  ? 

8.  Tell  how  North  Carolina  left,  the  Union. 


¥  ¥ 

XX. 

THE  LAST  GREAT  WAR. 

Preparing-  for  War. — Great  preparations  were  now  made 
for  war.  Soldiers  gathered  at  various  places  in  North 
Carolina,  ready  to  fight  for  the  South.  Forts  were  built 
along  the  coast  to  keep  the  enemy's  ships  from  landing 
soldiers.  The  women  worked  day  and  night  with  their 
needles,  making  clothes  and  knitting  socks  for  the  soldiers. 
Many  pretty  girls  embroidered  beautiful  flags  for  their 
sweethearts  to  carry  before  them  into  battle.  Everybody 
was  excited  and  talking  about  war  as  if  it  were  some  great 
pleasure  trip,  for  few  people  understood  what  a  terrible 
thing  war  is. 

The  First  Battle. — The  United  States  began  at  once  to 
send  soldiers  to  conquer  the  South.     Some  of  them  landed 


THE  LAST  GREAT  WAR.  139 

in  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina  soldiers  marched  to  drive 
them  away.  The  two  armies  met  at  a  place  called  Big 
Bethel  and  there  fought  the  first  battle  of  the  war.  The 
Confederates  had  1,200  soldiers,  800  of  whom  were  from 
North  Carolina,  under  Colonel  D.  H.  Hill,  a  brave  officer 
who  afterwards  became  a  general.  The  only  southern  soldier 
killed  in  the  battle  was  Henry  Wyatt,  one  of  Colonel  Hill's 
men.  He  was  the  first  soldier  killed  in  battle  in  the  war 
between  the  states.  The  battle  of  Bethel  was  not  very  im- 
portant, but  when  the  news  came  that  the  South  had  won  a 
victory  there  was  great  rejoicing  in  North  Carolina. 

Bad  News  for  North.  Carolina. — This  rejoicing  did  not 
last  long,  for  the  people  now  heard  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  had  sent  a  powerful  fleet  to  capture  the  forts 
along  the  coast  of  North  Carolina.  There  was  some  sharp 
fighting,  but  the  forts  were  not  very  strong,  and  one  by  one 
they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  First  Fort  Hatteras 
was  captured,  then  Roanoke  Island,  and  then  New  Bern. 

North  Carolina  Soldiers  in  the  "War. — But  the  greatest 
fighting  Avas  done  in  Virginia  and  Tennessee.  North  Caro- 
lina sent  125,000  soldiers  into  the  war,  most  of  whom  went 
into  these  states.  This  was  a  larger  number  than  was  sent 
by  any  other  southern  state.  There  was  not  a  great  battle 
in   which  they  did  not  fight. 

But  were  they  brave?  And  did  they  do  their  duty? 
Let  us  see.  The  first  Confederate  soldier  killed  in  battle 
was  a  North  Carolina  soldier.  The  Confederates  who 
led  the  way  in  the  famous   charge  at  the  great  battle  of 


140  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Gettysburg  were  North  Carolina  soldiers.  The  soldiers  who 
made  the  last  charge  and  fired  the  last  shot  at  Appomattox 
were  North  Carolina  soldiers.  In  some  of  the  great  battles 
in  Virginia,  North  Carolina  had  more  soldiers  killed  than 
all  the  other  states  put  together.  During  the  war  more 
than  40,000  North  Carolina  soldiers  were  killed  and 
wounded,  and  this  was  a  greater  number  than  those  lost 
by  any  other  Confederate  state.  Do  not  these  things  show 
how  brave  North  Carolina  soldiers  were,  and  how  well  they 
did  their  duty  ? 

Famous  North  Carolina  Officers. — Several  officers  from 
North  Carolina  Avon  fame  during  the  war.  The  following  were 
killed  while  leading  their  men  in  battle  :  General  George  B. 
Anderson,  General  L.  O'B.  Branch,  General  W.  D.  Pender, 
General  James  Johnston  Pettigrew,  and  General  Stephen  D. 
Ramseur.  General  Pender  received  the  last  order  ever 
given  on  the  battle-field  by  the  famous  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson. 
"You  must  hold  your  ground,  General  Pender,  you  must 
hold  your  ground,  sir,"  he  said,  just  as  he  was  carried  off 
the  field  by  his  officers.  And  General  Pender  held  his 
ground.  General  Pettigrew  led  his  men  farther  than  any 
others  in  the  great  charge  at  Gettysburg.  General  Jackson  on 
his  death-bed  wrote  to  General  Lee  asking  him  to  promote 
General  Ramseur  for  his  great  bravery.  Other  officers  who 
were  not  killed  and  who  won  fame  were  :  General  Robert  F. 
Hoke,  who  was  a  general  when  he  was  only  twenty-six 
years  old  ;  General  D.  H.  Hill,  who  won  the  battle  of  Big 
Bethel ;   and  General  Bryan  Grimes,  who,  General  Lee  said. 


THE  LAST  GREAT   WAR. 


Ill 


CUNFEDEBATE   3IUXU31EXT   AT    KALEIGH, 


142  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

saved  the  whole  Confederate  army  in  one  of  the  great 
battles  in  Virginia. 

"  The  Great  "War  Governor." — But  the  North  Caroli- 
nian who  won  the  greatest  fame  during  the  war  did  not  win 
it  on  the  battle-field,  though  he  was  a  brave  soldier.  He 
was  away  in  Virginia  fighting  when  the  people  elected  him 
governor  in  1862.     His  name  was  Zebulon  Baird  Vance. 

Before  the  war  began  Vance  had  opposed  secession  and 
spoke  against  it.  But  after  North  Carolina  seceded  he  raised 
a  company  of  sturdy  mountain  men  and  marched  away  at 
their  head  to  join  the  army.  His  company  was  called  "  The 
Rough  and  Ready  Guards."  Vance  proved  to  be  a  brave 
fighter  and  was  soon  made  a  colonel.  He  might  have 
become  a  general  if  the  people  had  not  called  him  back  to 
North  Carolina  to  be  governor. 

The  proud  record  made  by  North  Carolina  during  the 
war  was  due  more  to  him  than  to  anybody  else.  It  was  he 
who  kept  North  Carolina's  ranks  in  Virginia  and  Tennessee 
full,  and  caused  her  to  send  more  soldiers  to  the  Con- 
federate army  than  any  other  southern  state.  It  was  he, 
too,  who  kept  the  North  Carolina  soldiers  better  clad  and 
better  fed  than  those  from  any  other  southern  state.  After 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  the  Confederate  army  in  Virginia 
was  terribly  gloomy  and  disheartened.  Vance  visited  the 
army  and  made  some  wonderful  speeches  to  the  soldiers. 
These  speeches  stirred  their  hearts  with  hope  and  courage. 
General  Lee  said  that  Vance's  visit  was  worth  50,000  soldiers 
to  him. 


THE  LAST  GREAT   WAR.  143 

But  Vance  did  more  than  make  speeches.  He  sent  more 
supplies  to  the  army  than  any  other  governor  in  the  South. 
Among  the  things  he  bought  were  :  2,000  fine  rifles,  12,000 
overcoats,  50,000  blankets,  250,000  pairs  of  shoes,  gray 
cloth  for  250,000  uniforms,  100,000  pounds  of  bacon,  and 
$50,000  worth  of  medicines.  Most  of  these  things  of  course 
were  sent  to  the  North  Carolina  soldiers ;  but  a  large 
quantity  also  found  its  way  to  the  camps  of  soldiers  from 
other  states.  Many  a  poor  ragged  soldier  had  shoes  on  his 
feet,  a  blanket  to  cover  him  from  the  snow,  and  a  ration  of 
bacon  once  a  week  because  Zebulon  Baird  Vance  was 
governor  of  North  Carolina.  No  wonder  the  soldiers  called 
him  "The  Great  War  Governor  of  the  South." 

No  other  man  did  so  much  as  he  to  keep  up  the  courage 
of  the  people  during  the  terrible  days  of  suffering  that  the 
war  soon  brought  to  every  southern  home. 

How  the  People  Suffered. — Those  terrible  days  came 
soon  after  Governor  Vance  was  elected.  North  Carolina 
had  sent  thousands  of  her  bravest  men  to  the  battle-fields 
of  other  states.  The  work  at  home  had  to  be  done  by 
women,  children,  and  negroes.  They  worked  bravely  day 
and  night,  but  found  it  hard  to  keep  the  soldiers  clothed 
and  fed  without  starving  themselves.  Many  people  could 
-not  buy  the  food  and  clothing  they  needed,  because  the 
price  of  everything  was  so  high.  A  gallon  of  molasses 
cost  $8.  It  took  $50  to  buy  a  bushel  of  corn,  and  $100 
to  buy  a  barrel  of  flour.  A  boy  thought  he  had  a  good 
dinner  if  he  could  get  cornbread  and  sorghum   and  peas. 


144  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

He  did  not  expect  to  have  meat.  A  pair  of  boy's  boots 
cost  $150,  so  most  of  the  boys  went  barefoot,  even  in 
winter.  The  women  made  their  own  shoes.  Carpets 
were  torn  up  from  the  floor  and  cut  into  blankets.  Even 
the  richest  people  had  to  do  without  things  that  the  poorest 
can  now  have. 

The  Blockade  and  Blockade  Runners. — The  chief  cause 
of  all  this  suffering  was .  what  is  called  the  "  blockade.1' 
The  United  States  had  large  fleets  of  war  vessels  which 
sailed  along  the  coast  of  the  southern  states  and  would 
not  let  other  vessels  go  in  and  out  of  the  harbors.  No 
cotton  could  be  shipped  to  Europe  to  be  sold,  and  no 
clothing  and  food  could  be  brought  in  from  Europe. 

But  there  was  one  port  in  the  South  which  the  war 
vessels  could  not  close  up.  This  was  Wilmington.  A 
powerful  fort  had  been  built  on  Cape  Fear  River,  a  few 
miles  below  Wilmington,  called  Fort  Fisher,  and  this  pro- 
tected the  city.  Swift  little  vessels  called  "blockade  run- 
ners "  slipped  in  and  out  of  Wilmington,  protected  by  the 
guns  of  Fort  Fisher.  They  carried  out  cotton  and  brought 
back  many  things  needed  by  the  people  and  the  army. 

"  The  Advance." — The  most  famous  of  these  blockade 
runners  was  the  "Advance."  She  was  a  fast  sailing  little 
vessel  which  Governor  Vance  bought  in  England.  For 
two  years  the  "Advance"  managed  to  keep  out  of  the 
way  of  the  big  war  vessels,  sailing  back  and  forth  between 
Wilmington  and  the  West  Indies.  She  made  eleven  trips, 
but  was  captured  on  the  twelfth,  and  destroyed. 


THE  LAST  GREAT   WAR. 


145 


"What  the  "Advance"  Did. — The  ''Advance1'  carried 
out  hundreds  of  bales  of  cotton,  which  were  sold  in  the 
West  Indies  to  English  merchants.  The  money  was  used 
to  buy  all  sorts  of  useful  things.  Tools  for  farmers, 
medicine  for  hospitals,  uniforms,  blankets,  rifles,  and  food 
for  soldiers,  all  were  brought  into  North  Carolina  in  large 
quantities. 

How  Plymouth  "Was  Captured. — When  the  Union 
soldiers  captured  Roanoke  Island,  the  little  town  of  Ply- 


<---►    ' 


THE   ADVANCE. 


mouth,  at  the  mouth  of  Roanoke  River,  was  also  captured. 
As  long  as  the  United  States  held  this  town,  North  Caro- 
lina could  not  send  food  from  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state  up  the  river  to  General  Lee's  army  in  Virginia. 
So  General  Robert  F.  Hoke,  of  North  Carolina,  was  sent 
to  take  Plymouth  from  the  United  States.  General  Hoke 
managed  the  attack  so  bravely  and  so  well  that  the  town 
and    all    the    United  States  soldiers    in    it   were    captured. 

He  received  great  praise  for  this  victory  and  was  promoted. 
10 


146  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

"The  Albemarle." — In  this  battle  General  Hoke  was 
greatly  helped  by  a  vessel  called  the  "Albemarle,"  built 
by  Captain  James  W.  Cook,  a  North  Carolina  naval  officer. 
At  the  battle  of  Plymouth  the  "  Albemarle "  sunk  one 
United  States  vessel  and  drove  another  away.  A  few 
days  later  she  went  into  battle  against  eight  powerful  ships, 
did  them  great  damage,  and,  after  fighting  four  hours, 
slipped  safely  away.  The  United  States  was  very  anxious 
to  destroy  this  vessel,  so  Plymouth  could  be  again  taken 


L _i 


THE  ALBEMARLE. 


from  the  Confederates.  One  dark  night  Lieutenant  dish- 
ing, a  daring  officer,  managed  to  place  a  torpedo  under 
her,  and  the  "Albemarle'1  was  blown  up.  Then  the 
United  States  troops  entered  Plymouth  again. 

The  Pall  of  Fort  Fisher. — The  United  States  govern- 
ment now  planned  to  destroy  Fort  Fisher.  In  the  winter 
of  1864  a  large  fleet  of  war  vessels  and  a  powerful  army 
were  sent  to  capture  the  fort.  The  fleet  was  commanded 
by  Admiral  Porter,  and  Fort  Fisher  was  under  the  com- 


THE  LAST  GREAT  WAR.  147 

mand  of  Colonel  William  Lamb.  At  first  the  fleet  was 
driven  off,  but  it  returned  again  with  fifty-eight  vessels, 
carrying  six  hundred  cannon.  Then  followed  one  of  the 
most  terrible  battles  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The 
fleet  threw  50,000  cannon  balls  against  the  fort.  At  the 
same  time  the  army  attacked  it  from  the  land  side.  After 
several  days  of  hard  fighting,  Fort  Fisher  surrendered, 
and  the  United  States  soldiers  then  marched  into  Wil- 
mington. 

The  Last  Battle. — The  war  was  now  near  the  close.  A 
few  weeks  after  the  capture  of  Wilmington,  a  great  United 
States  army  of  more  than  100,000  soldiers,  under  General 
William  T.  Sherman,  entered  North  Carolina.  This  army 
had  made  a  long  march  through  the  states  of  Tennessee, 
Georgia,  and  South  Carolina,  and  had  captured  all  the 
large  cities  in  those  states.  When  General  Sherman 
entered  North  Carolina  there  was  only  a  very  small  army, 
of  less  than  20,000  men,  to  meet  him.  This  army  was 
under  the  command  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  one 
of  the  greatest  soldiers  of  the  war.  General  Johnston 
tried  to  stop  General  Sherman  at  a  place  called  Bentonville, 
not  far  from  Goldsboro.  But  Sherman's  great  army  won  the 
battle,  and  Johnston  had  to  retreat  toward  Raleigh.  Sher- 
man followed,  captured  Raleigh,  and  a  few  days  later, 
near  Durham,  received  the  surrender  of  Johnston's  army. 
General  Lee  had  already  surrendered  to  General  Grant  in 
Virginia,  so  Johnston's  surrender  brought  the  war  to  a 
close. 


148  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— Find  Bethel ;  Cape  Hatteras  ;  Roanok< 
Island  ;  New  Bern  ;  Cape  Fear  ;  Wilmington  ;  Plymouth  ;  Goldsboro 
Bentonville  ;  Durham.     Trace  the  course  of  Roanoke  River. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  Tell  about  North  Carolina's  preparations  fur  war. 

2.  Tell  about  the  first  battle  of  the  war. 

3.  What  bad  news  did  the  people  hear? 

4.  Tell  about  North  Carolina  soldiers  in  the  war. 

5.  Who  were  some  famous  North  Carolina  officers? 

6.  Who  was  called  "  The  Great  War  Governor  "  ? 

7.  Why  was  he  so  called  ? 

8.  Tell  how  the  people  suffered. 

9.  Tell    about   the  capture  of   Plymouth;   Hie  Albemarle;   I  In 
capture  of  Fort  Fisher. 

10.      How  was  the  war  brought  to  a  close? 


XXI. 

IN  THE   UNION  AGAIN. 

EMANCIPATION    AND    SECESSION. 

"What  the  "War  Decided. — During  the  war  thousands  of 
men  had  been  killed  and  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  prop- 
erty destroyed.  It  took  all  this  to  settle  the  two  great 
questions  that  divided  the  North  and  the  South.  They 
were  that  no  state  had  a  right  to  secede  from  the  Union, 
and  that  never  again  should  there  be  slaves  in  the  United 
States.  During  the  war  President  Lincoln  had  declared 
free  all  the  slaves  in  the  states  which  had  seceded ;  and 


IN  THE  UNION  AGAIX.  149 

after  the  war  the  slaves  in  all  the  other  States  in  which 
slaves  were  held  were  set  free.  The  negroes  now  had  no 
masters  ;  they  could  go  and  do  what  they  pleased ;  their 
families  could  not  be  separated  any  more ;  they  could  own 
their  own  farms ;  they  could  learn  to  read  and  to  write ; 
after  a  while  they  were  allowed  to  vote  and  to  hold  office ; 
indeed,  they  could  now  do  whatever  their  old  masters  were 
allowed  to  do. 

A  Sad  Home-Coming-. — After  the  surrender  of  the  Con- 
federate armies  the  soldiers  told  each  other  good-bye  with 
tears  in  their  eyes  and  turned  their  faces  homeward.  What 
sad  journeys  they  had  before  them  !  Everywhere  they  saw 
the  ruin  and  suffering  caused  by  the  war.  North  Carolina, 
like  the  other  southern  states,  was  in  a  terrible  condition 
thousands  of  her  sons  had  been  killed  on  the  battle-field 
thousands  of  others  came  home  sick  and  crippled  for  life 
all  were  ragged,  hungry,  and  penniless.  When  they  reached 
home  they  found  nothing  to  cheer  them  except  the  love  of 
their  friends.  Where  they  had  left  beautiful  homes,  they 
found  tumbled  down  ruins  or  heaps  of  ashes.  Fine  farms, 
where  corn  and  cotton  had  grown  in  abundance,  were  waste 
places  covered  with  grass  and  weeds.  Their  barns  and 
fences  were  rotted  to  the  ground.  There  were  not  enough 
horses  and  mules  in  the  state  to  plough  the  fields.  But  the 
men  were  as  brave  now  as  they  had  been  in  the  war,  and 
went  to  work  to  rebuild  their  state. 

The   Conquerors  and  the  Conquered. — But  how    anx- 
iously they  waited  to  learn  what  the  victorious  North  was 


150  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

going  to  do  with  the  conquered  South  !  Many  of  the  north- 
ern people  wanted  to  have  the  leaders  of  the  Confederacy 
punished,  to  destroy  the  old  states,  and  to  divide  them  into 
new  ones.  But  President  Lincoln,  who  was  a  great  and 
good  man,  opposed  all  this.  He  said  Hie  southern  people 
had  suffered  enough  already ;  and  that  the  southern  states 
could  come  back  into  the  Union  as  soon  as  the  people 
would  swear  to  support  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 
But  President  Lincoln  was  murdered,  and  Andrew  Johnson, 
who  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  became  president.  He 
tried  to  carry  out  President  Lincoln's  plan,  but  many  of  the 
northern  people  did  not  like  President  Johnson,  and  would 
not  listen  to  what  he  said.  So  the  enemies  of  the  South  got 
control  of  the  government,  and  made  up  their  minds  to 
punish  the  southern  people.  What  now  followed  is  called 
"reconstruction.11 

"Reconstruction." — Those  were  evil  days  for  North 
Carolina.  Hostile  United  States  soldiers  roamed  every- 
where, robbing  and  insulting  the  people.  Hundreds  of  men, 
most  of  whom  were  bad  men,  followed  the  army  from  the 
North  to  plunder  the  South.  They  were  called  "  carpet- 
baggers,11 and  were  protected  by  the  army.  They  soon  got 
control  of  the  state.  Thousands  of  ignorant  negroes  were 
allowed  to  vote.  They  turned  out  the  brave  old  Governor 
Worth,  and  elected  William  W.  Holden  governor.  Many 
negroes  were  put  into  public  offices.  The  schools  built  up 
by  Calvin  H.  Wiley  were  destroyed ;  the  doors  of  the  Uni- 
versity were  closed ;  business  and  trade  were  ruined ;  and 


IN  THE   UNION  AGAIN.  151 

there  were  no  order,  no  peace,  no  safety,  for  men  who  were 
true  to  the  South. 

Changes  in  the  Constitution. — The  first  step  in  "  recon- 
struction "  was  a  convention  to  change  the  constitution. 
This  convention  met  in  Raleigh  in  1868.  It  was  not  con- 
trolled by  the  best  men  in  the  state  as  the  other  conven- 
tions had  been.  Most  of  the  best  men  were  not  allowed 
to  vote  because  they  had  taken  part  in  the  war.  Those 
who  controlled  the  convention  were  northern  men  who  had 
come  to  North  Carolina  to  seek  their  fortunes  by  plundering 
the  people.  There  were  also  thirteen  negroes  in  the  con- 
vention who  always  did  as  these  northern  men  told  them. 

The  real  purpose  of  the  convention  was  to  change  the 
constitution  so  these  northern  men  and  the  negroes  could 
hold  the  offices  in  the  state.  This  was  done  by  permitting 
the  negroes  to  vote  and  to  hold  office,  though  most  of  the 
best  white  men  could  do  neither.  One  day  a  party  of  men 
were  dining  together.  Three  of  them  had  been  governors  of 
North  Carolina,  one  had  been  a  supreme  court  judge,  others 
had  been  members  of  congress.  Yet  the  only  man  in  the 
room  who  could  vote  was  the  negro  who  waited  on  the 
table. 

Many  other  changes  were  made,  but  I  cannot  tell  you  of 
them  here.  The  result  was  that  the  northern  fortune- 
hunters  and  negroes  got  control  of  the  state.  They  spent 
millions  of  dollars  for  which  the  state  got  nothing  except 
debt.  The  days  that  followed  were  evil  days  in  North 
Carolina.     The  poor  negroes  were  not  as  much  to  blame  as 


152  THE   OLD  NORTH   STATE. 

the   white   men  who  led  them.      The   negroes  were  very 
ignorant,  and  most  of  them  did  not  know  any  better. 

The  Union  League. — At  the  close  of  the  war  the  old 
slaves  still  loved  their  old  masters,  and  the  old  masters  still 
treated  their  old  slaves  kindly.  There  was  no  unkind  feel- 
ing between  them  until  the  carpet-baggers  came.  These 
men  tried  to  set  the  negroes  against  the  southern  white 
people.  They  formed  a  society  called  "The  Union  League," 
which  held  all  its  meetings  in  secret.  The  poor  negroes 
did  not  know  any  better  than  to  listen  to  what  the  car- 
pet-baggers told  them.  They  thought  these  men  were 
their  friends  and  their  old  masters  were  their  enemies.  Soon 
after  the  league  was  formed  many  houses  and  barns 
belonging  to  white  men  were  burned  ;  their  cattle  were 
stolen  ;  white  women  were  often  insulted  ;  and  several  brutal 
murders  were  committed.  The  white  people  believed  these 
to  be  crimes  of  members  of  the  Union  League.  Finding 
that  they  could  get  no  protection  from  Governor  Holden, 
they  made  up  their  minds  to  protect  themselves. 

"  Ku  Klux  Klan." — In  certain  parts  of  the  state  strange 
sights  were  now  often  seen.  During  the  dark  hours  of  the 
night  hundreds  of  tall  figures  on  black  horses  were  seen 
riding  swiftly  along  lonely  roads,  or  moving  silently  around 
the  hut  of  some  well  known  negro.  Long  white  robes 
flowed  from  their  shoulders,  making  them  look  seven  or 
eight  feet  high.  They  made  no  noise,  and  spoke  no  word, 
but  they  moved  rapidly. 

If  a  carpet-bagger  tried  to  set   the  negroes   against   the 


IN  THE  UNION  AGAIN.  153 

white  people,  he  was  sure  to  receive  a  note  signed  with  the 
three  letters,  UK.  K.  K.,'1  warning  him  to  leave  the  neigh- 
borhood. If  a  negro  took  an  active  part  in  the  Union 
League,  he  was  certain  to  receive  a  visit  from  these  strange 
beings  and  be  severely  whipped.  A  few  who  had  burned 
barns  or  insulted  white  women  were  found  dead,  hanging 
from  limbs  by  the  roadside.  There,  too,  was  a  piece  of 
paper  pinned  to  the  body,  on  which  were  written  the  three 
letters,  "  K.  K.  K." 

What  did  it  all  mean?  What  were  the  "K.  K.  K.V? 
People  said  they  were  the  ghosts  of  soldiers  who  had 
come  back  from  the  battle-fields  to  punish  wicked  negroes 
and  carpet-baggers.  The  negroes  believed  these  stories, 
and  in  many  places  would  not  follow  the  carpet-baggers,  as 
they  had  done. 

The  letters  "  K.  K.  K."  stood  for  Ku  Klux  Klan,  a  society 
formed  by  the  white  people  in  certain  counties  to  oppose 
the  Union  League  and  punish  negroes  who  were  guilty  of 
crimes.  Everything  about  it  was  secret,  and  nobody  except 
members  knew  who  belonged  to  it.  It  did  many  things  that 
were  wrong  and  against  the  law,  but  it  made  bad  men 
behave  themselves. 

The  Punishment  of  a  Governor. — When  Governor 
Holden  found  that  the  Ku  Klux  Klan  was  keeping  the 
negroes  from  voting,  he  saw  that  his  party  would  be  turned 
out  of  power  unless  he  could  frighten  the  white  people  so 
they  would  not  vote.  So  he  pretended  that  the  Ku  Klux 
Klan  was  causing  so  much  disorder  in  Caswell  and  Alamance 


154  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

counties  that  the  people  needed  United  States  soldiers  to 
protect  them.  Just  before  the  election  in  1870  he  sent  the 
cruel  Colonel  Kirk  to  those  counties.  Colonel  Kirk  and  his 
brutal  soldiers  arrested  more  than  a  hundred  white  men 
who  had  committed  no  crime  and  threw  them  into  prison. 
The  people  were  kept  in  great  terror  by  the  lawless  soldiers. 
All  this  was  done  at  the  command  of  Governor  Holden,  and 
the  people  wanted  him  punished. 

When  an  officer  like  a  governor  or  a  judge  disobeys  the 
law  he  can  be  tried  by  the  assembly,  and,  if  found  guilty,  his 
office  is  taken  away  from  him.  This  is  called  "  impeaching  " 
him.  When  the  assembly  met,  they  accused  Governor 
Holden  of  many  crimes,  and  decided  to  impeach  him. 
After  a  long  trial  he  was  found  guilty.  The  assembly 
removed  him  from  office  and  declared  that  he  never  could 
hold  office  aaain  in  North  Carolina. 


REVIEW.— Tell  about— 

1.  What  the  war  decided. 

2.  The  home-coming  of  the  soldiers. 

8.  How  the  North  treated  the  South  after  the  war. 

4.  "Reconstruction." 

5.  Change  in  the  constitution. 

6.  The  Union  League  and  the  Ku  Klux  Klan. 

7.  How  Governor  Holden  was  punished. 


"SINCE   THE   WAR."— I.  155 

XXII. 
"SINCE    THE  WAR." — I. 

Friends  Once  More. — We  shall  now  read  no  more  of 
soldiers  and  wars.  In  their  stead  we  shall  hear  of  schools 
and  colleges,  of  teachers  and  farmers,  of  factories  and  rail- 
roads. We  shall  read  no  more  stories  of  fighting  and  suffer- 
ing. The  North  and  the  South  have  both  laid  down  their 
arms.  The  old  flag  with  its  stars  and  stripes  now  floats  over 
hundreds  of  school  houses  in  the  South  as  well  as  in  the 
North,  and  the  southern  boy  is  as  ready  to  defend  it  with 
his  life  as  the  northern  boy.  The  two  sections  are  friends 
again  as  they  were  when  the  northern  general,  Nathanael 
Green,  led  southern  soldiers  at  Guilford  Court  House,  and 
the  southern  general,  George  Washington,  led  northern 
soldiers  at  Yorktown.  We  shall  now  read  a  story  of  peace 
and  happiness. 

The  Last  Constitutional  Convention. — After  the  re- 
moval of  Holden  from  the  office  of  governor  the  white  peo- 
ple got  control  of  their  state  again.  They  then  held  a  con- 
vention at  Raleigh  to  make  some  changes  in  the  constitution. 
A  change  was  made  that  gave  the  white  people  control  of 
the  offices  of  county  commissioners  and  justices  of  the 
peace.  Negroes  and  white  persons  were  also  forbidden  to 
marry  each  other  or  to  go  to  the  same  schools.  This  was 
the  last  convention  for  changing  the  constitution  that  has 
been  held  in  North  Carolina. 

Better  Days  in  "  The  Old  North  State." — The  next  year, 


156 


THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


Zebulon  B.  Vance,  who  liad  already  been  governor  twice, 
was  elected  governor  again.  Happier  days  now  came  to 
"  The  Old  North  State.'1  The  Union  soldiers  were  gone ; 
both  the  Union  League  and  the  Klu  Klux  Klan  had  been 
broken  up  ;  and  the  white  people  were  again  the  rulers  of 
North  Carolina. 

Governor  Vance  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  North 
Carolina's  greatest  sons.     While  he  was  governor  the  laws 

of  the  state  were  obeyed  ;  again 

there  were  peace  and  order ;  the 
lives  and  property  of  the  people 
were  protected  ;  schools  and  col- 
leges were  opened.     The  hum 
of  mills,    the  shriek  of  factory 
whistles,  the  roar  of  trains  pro- 
claimed that  industry  had  taken 
the  place  of  war.     Trade  began 
to  thrive,  farmers  plowed  their 
fields  in  safety,  and  men   with 
glad  hearts  set  themselves  to  the  tasks  of  building  their 
homes  again,  planting   their  fields,  and   making  the  state 
stronger  and  richer  and  happier  than  ever  before. 

Vance  in  the  United  States  Senate. — Governor  Vance 
became  the  most  popular  man  in  the  state.  In  1879  after 
he  had  been  governor  two  years  the  legislature  elected  him 
to  the  United  States  senate.  He  remained  in  the  senate  for 
fifteen  years  and"  became  one  of  the  strong  leaders  of  the 
"New  South.'"     He  was  so  eloquent,  so  generous,  so  kindly, 


ZEBULON    BAIRD    VANCE. 


"SINCE  THE   WAR."— I.  157 

and  so  honest  that  those  who  had  been  his  enemies  became 
his  friends.  He  defended  the  South  from  attacks  of  her 
enemies  without  offending  the  North.  No  man  did  more 
than  he  to  make  the  two  sections  friends  again.  When  he 
died  the  legislature  voted  money  to  erect  a  monument  to 
him  in  the  capitol  square  at  Raleigh.  This  is  the  only 
monument  that  the  state  has  ever  erected  with  public  money 
to  one  of  her  great  sons. 

Thomas  J.  Jarvis. — When  Governor  Vance  was  elected 
to  the  senate,  the  lieutenant-governor,  Thomas  J.  Jarvis, 
became  governor.  He  served  the  remaining  two  years  of 
Vance's  term,  and  was  so  much  liked  by  the  people  that  he 
was  elected  for  four  more  years.  After  his  term  as  governor 
was  closed  President  Cleveland  appointed  him  United  States 
minister  to  Brazil,  where  he  remained  four  years.  Jarvis 
proved  himself  such  a  worthy  successor  of  Vance  as  governor, 
that,  when  Vance  died,  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  as 
United  States  senator.  In  recent  years  he  has  been  one  of 
the  ablest  and  most  eloquent  champions  of  public  education 
in  the  South. 

How  the  University  "Was  Opened  Again. — When  peace 
came  after  the  war  with  England,  the  people  built  the 
University  and  opened  it  to  the  young  men  of  the  state.  So 
now,  when  peace  came  after  the  war  against  the  North,  one 
of  the  first  things  to  be  done  was  to  open  the  University 
again.  The  man  who  did  more  than  any  other  to  have 
this  done  was  Kemp  P.  Battle,  and  when  all  was  ready  for 
students    he    was   elected  president.     He  remained   at  the 


158 


THE  OLD  NORTE  STATE. 


head  of  the  University  for  fifteen  years,  and  lie  made  the 
New  University  as  great  as  the  Old  University  had  been. 
Just  as  William  R.  Davie  can  be  called  "  The  Father  of  the 
Old  University,"  so  Kemp  P.  Battle  deserves  to  be  called 
"  The    Father    of  the    New  University." 

A  Great  School  for  Farmers. — The  University   lias  edu- 
cated many  men  who  became  great  lawyers,  doctors,  soldiers, 


ALUMNI    HALL,      UNIVERSITY    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA. 


teachers,  and  preachers.  But  until  a  few  years  ago  there 
was  no  school  in  the  state  where  boys  could  learn  to  be 
great  farmers,  surveyors,  engineers,  and  builders  of  factories 
and  railroads.  There  were  millions  of  acres  of  land  that 
would  make  fine  farms ;  there  were  hundreds  of  miles  of 
railroads  to  be  built ;  there  were  rushing  streams  that  would 
turn  the  wheels  of  hundreds  of  mills.  But  there  were  few 
men  who  knew  how  to  turn  a  waste  field  into  a  fine  farm  ; 


"SINCE  THE   WAR."— I. 


159 


or  how  to  build  a  railroad  across  swamps  or  under  moun- 
tains ;  or  how  to  manage  a  great  factory.  A  few  wise  men 
thought  there  should  be  a  school  where  boys  could  learn  to 
do  these  things.  So  they  asked  the  assembly  for  money 
to  build  such  a  school,  and  the  assembly  gave  it.  The 
school  was  opened  in  1889  at  Raleigh,  and  since  that  time 
has  been  a  great  help  in  building  up  the  state.  It  is  called 
the  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts. 


MAIN    BUILDING,    STATE   NORMAL   AND    INDUSTRIAL    COLLEGE. 


A  Great  School  for  Women. — Both  this  college  and 
the  University  were  for  men  only.  Should  not  the  state 
also  have  a  great  college  for  women  ?  The  teachers  of 
North  Carolina  thought  so,  and  urged  the  assembly  to  build 
a  school  where  teachers  themselves  could  be  taught.  After 
several  years  of  hard  work  they  persuaded  the  assembly  to 
vote  the  money,  and  in  1892  the  college  was  opened  at 
Greensboro.     It  is  the  State  Normal  and  Industrial  College 


for  Women. 


Two  men  were  leaders  in  this  great  work — 


160  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Charles  D.  Mclver  and  Edwin  A.  Alderman.  The  former 
was  elected  president.  The  college  is  only  fourteen  years 
old,  yet  more  than  three  thousand  young  women  have 
studied  there,  and  more  than  two  thousand  of  them  have 
been  teachers. 

Charles  Duncan  Mclver,  the  Children's  Friend. — To- 
day there  are  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  in  North  Caro- 
lina who  are  at  school  in  pretty 
school  houses,  sitting  at  comfort- 
able desks,  reciting  their  lessons 
to  good  teachers,  and  looking  for- 
ward to  bright  futures,  because 
Charles  Duncan  Mclver  was  their 
friend.  Like  most  of  these  boys, 
he  was  raised  on  a  farm  where 
he  learned  to  love  work — hard, 
earnest,  honest  wTork.  "  My  work 
is  my  joy,"  he  often  said.  He 
studied  at  the  University  and  was  one  of  the  best  students 
there.  Then  he  became  a  school  teacher,  for  he  was  one 
of  the  first  men  "  since  the  war  "  to  see  that  the  greatest 
need  of  North  Carolina  was  education.  Like  Calvin  H. 
Wiley  he  began  a  long  war  against  ignorance,  which  lasted 
for  twenty-five  years. 

Not  only  was  he  the  founder  of  the  State  Normal  and 
Industrial  College,  but  he  was  the  leader  in  many  other 
works  for  education.  He  spoke  in  nearly  every  county  in 
North  Carolina,  and  in  half  the   states  of  the  Union,   for 


CHARLES    I'UNCAN    MCIVEP.. 


"SIXCE  THE   WAIL"— I.  161 

better  schools.  Mclver  was  perhaps  the  most  popular 
speaker  in  North  Carolina  since  Vance,  and  like  Vance,  he 
was  one  of  the  best  story-tellers  in  the  state.  People  came 
for  miles  to  hear  him  talk  about  education.  He  urged  them 
to  vote  more  taxes  for  longer  school  terms,  better  school 
houses,  and  better  teachers.  Not  only  did  he  speak  for  the 
cause  himself,  but  he  persuaded  many  others  to  help  him 
fight  the  great  enemy — Ignorance.  No  other  man  in  the 
whole  country  did  more  for  the  education  of  the  boys  and 
girls  on  southern  farms  than  he. 

Many  honors  came  to  him.  He  was  president  of  the 
North  Carolina  Teachers'  Assembly,  president  of  the 
Southern  Educational  Association,  and  president  of  the 
Normal  School  Department  of  the  National  Educational 
Association,  the  largest  educational  association  in  the  world. 
He  also  had  many  chances  to  become  wealthy,  but  he  would 
not  accept  them,  because  he  had  devoted  his  life  to  the 
children  of  the  state  and  of  the  South. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  How  do  the  North  and  South  regard  each  other  now  ? 

2.  What  was  the  last  convention  to  change  the  constitution  ? 

3.  How  did  better  days  come  to  North  Carolina  ? 

4.  Tell  about  Zebulon  B.  Vance.   Thomas  J.  Jarvis. 

5.  How  was  the  University  opened  again? 

6.  Tell  how   and   why   a  college   for  teaching  agriculture  was 
founded. 

7.  What  great  college  was  founded  for  women?     Who  was  its 
founder?  Tell  the  story  of  his  life. 


11 


162 


THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 


XXIII. 


SINCE   THE  WAR."- II. 


A   NORTH   CAROLINA    RURAL   PUBLIC   SCHOOL 


The  Public  Schools. — One  of  the  greatest  evils  that 
North  Carolina  suffered  from  the  war  was  the  closing  of  the 

public  schools.  But  the 
people  did  not  intend 
to  let  them  stay  closed, 
and  as  soon  as  there 
was  order  and  peace  in 
the  state  they  were  re- 
opened. Before  the  war 
these  schools  were  for 
white  children  only ; 
negroes  Avere  not  al- 
lowed to  go  to  school.  But  now  there  are  public  schools 
for  both  races,  and  every  child  in  North  Carolina  is  within 
reach  of  a  school. 

More  than  twice  as  many  children  now  go  to  the  public 
schools  as  went  twenty  years  ago.  More  money  is  spent 
for  public  education,  the  school  houses  are  better,  the  terms 
are  longer,  the  teachers  are  better,  and  fewer  children 
cannot  read  and  write  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the 
state. 

The  Last  Change  in  the  Constitution. — One  reason  o± 
this  great  interest  in  education  was  an  important  change 
that  the  legislature  proposed  in  the  constitution.  This  was 
that  no  man  who  becomes  twenty-one  years  of  age  after 


"SINCE   THE    WAR."— II.  163 

1908  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  in  North  Carolina  unless  he 
•'shall  be  able  to  read  and  write  any  section  of  the  consti- 
tution in  the  English  language.'1  The  people  said  that  they 
would  adopt  this  change  if  the  public  schools  should  be  im- 
proved so  every  child  in  North  Carolina  could  get  an  educa- 
tion. Charles  B.  Aycock  promised  that  if  he  were  elected 
governor  this  should  be  done.  The  people  voted  for  the 
change,  and  elected  Aycock  governor. 

"The  Children's  Governor." — Vance  was  "The  Great 
War  Governor ;  "  Aycock  is  called  "  The  Great  Educational 
Governor,"  and  sometimes  "The  Children's  Governor.'" 
He  is  given  these  titles  because  he  did  so  much  for  the  pub- 
lic schools  while  he  was  governor.  He  went  all  over  North 
Carolina  talking  to  the  people  about  education.  He  is  a 
fine  orator,  and  the  people  heard  him  gladly  and  went  to 
work  to  improve  their  schools.  While  Aycock  was  governor 
the  public  schools  made  more  progress  than  during  any 
other  four  years  in  our  history. 

Other  Schools  and  Colleges. — The  interest  taken  by 
the  people  in  their  public  schools  has  been  a  great  help  to 
the  private  schools  and  church  schools  also.  There  are 
many  famous  high  schools  in  the  state,  all  of  which  are 
crowded  with  boys  and  girls  preparing  themselves  to  go  to 
the  colleges.  And  the  colleges,  too,  Trinity  College,  Wake 
Forest  College,  Davidson  College,  Guilford  College,  and  the 
colleges  for  girls,  are  all  making  rapid  progress,  and  doing 
much  to  help  build  up  the  state. 

Orphan   Asylums. — We    have    already    read    about  the 


1-64  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

schools  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  the  blind.  "  Since  the 
war"  they  have  become  better  and  have  more  children 
studying  in  them  than  ever  before.  Besides  caring  for  these, 
the  state  and  the  churches  have  built  homes  for  children 
who  have  no  parents.  At  Oxford  the  state  helps  the 
Masons  support  such  a  home.  These  children  are  well 
cared  for ;  they  have  good  schools,  and  learn  useful  trades. 

Newspapers  and  Libraries. — There  are  more  ways 
of  educating  the  people  than  through  schools.  They  can 
teach  themselves  by  reading  newspapers  and  books  and 
by  travel. 

When  the  war  closed  there  were  only  thirty-one  news- 
papers in  the  state;  now  the  number  has  grown  to  more 
than  two  hundred.  They  go  into  many  thousands  of  homes, 
and  are  read  by  more  than  a  million  people. 

One  thing  that  is  helping  to  educate  the  people  is  the 
rural  free  delivery  of  mail.  Since  they  can  now  get  their 
mail  daily  over  these  routes,  thousands  of  people  in  the 
country  read  newspapers  who  never  read  them  before. 

During  the  last  few  years  hundreds  of  libraries  have  been 
bought  in  North  Carolina.  Many  of  the  cities  have  beauti- 
ful library  buildings  containing  many  thousand  books,  which 
are  free  to  all  the  people.  Nearly  two  thousand  public 
schools  have  libraries  containing  more  than  100,000  of  the 
best  books  in  the  world.  This  number  is  always  increasing, 
and  the  time  will  come  soon  when  every  boy  and  girl  in  the 
state  will  be  able  to  read  what  the  greatest  authors  have 
written. 


"SIXCE  THE   WAR"— II.  165 

The  Education  of  Negroes. — While  the  negroes  were 
slaves  it  was  against  the  law  for  them  to  go  to  school.  But 
after  they  became  free  the  state  opened  public  schools  for 
them.  There  are  now  three  schools,  at  Winston-Salem, 
Fayetteville,  and  Elizabeth  City,  where  their  teachers  are 
trained  to  teach ;  and  a  school  at  Greensboro  for  them  like 
the  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  at  Raleigh 
for  white  boys.  There  are  now  more  than  two  thousand 
negro  public  schools  in  the  state,  with  nearly  150,000 
pupils  in  them. 

Other  schools  have  been  built  for  them  by  northern 
people,  and  many  northern  teachers  have  come  into  the 
state  to  teach  in  these  schools.  The  negroes  have  shown 
much  interest  in  education  and  have  made  great  pro- 
gress. 

Agriculture. — The  people  of  North  Carolina  do  not  like 
to  live  in  large  cities.  They  love  the  country  and  the  work 
of  the  farm ;  more  than  three-fourths  of  them  live  on  farms. 
There  is  not  a  better  state  in  the  Union  for  farming  than 
North  Carolina.  The  soil  is  fertile  ;  the  climate  is  good  ;  and 
since  railroads  have  been  built,  it  is  easy  for  most  of  the 
farmers  to  get  their  products  to  market.  Every  kind  of  crop 
that  grows  in  the  United  States  can  be  raised  in  North  Caro- 
lina ;  but  the  chief  crops  are  cotton,  tobacco,  corn,  wheat, 
rye,  oats,  potatoes,  and  rice.  Within  the  last  few  years 
truck  farming  has  become  important.  All  sorts  of  vegetables, 
berries,  and  fruits  are  shipped  to  northern  markets,  and  sold 
for   large  sums    of  money.     Many  of  the  counties  in  the 


160  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

trucking  sections  around  Goldsboro,  New  Bern,  Wilmington, 
and  Chadbourn,  look  like  great  gardens. 

In  no  other  way  has  the  state  made  more  progress  "since 
the  war"  than  in  agriculture.  We  have  already  learned 
how  the  state  built  a  great  college  at  Raleigh,  where  agri- 
culture can  be  taught.  An  officer  called  commissioner  of 
agriculture  has  been  added  to  the  state  government.  He 
has  a  large  number  of  men  at  work  under  him,  looking  after 
the  interests  of  the  farmers  and  explaining  to  them  how 
they  can  make  their  farms  better.  In  several  places  model 
farms  are  conducted,  where  the  farmers  can  learn  how  to 
cultivate  their  crops  so  as  to  make  the  largest  harvests.  A 
public  school  has  been  placed  within  reach  of  every  farmer's 
children.  All  these  things  have  led  the  farmers  to  improve 
their  fields,  to  take  better  care  of  their  stock,  and  to  build 
better  houses. 

Good  Roads. — Another  thing  that  is  improving  agricul- 
ture and  making  the  state  more  prosperous  is  the  building 
of  good  roads.  It  does  a  farmer  little  good  to  harvest  a 
large  crop  if  he  cannot  carry  it  to  a  market.  In  many  parts 
of  North  Carolina  he  finds  it  hard  to  do  this  because  the 
roads  are  so  poor.  But  in  a  few  counties,  especially  Meck- 
lenburg, Buncombe,  Forsyth,  Wake,  Durham,  Guilford,  and 
New  Hanover  many  miles  of  good  rock  roads  have  been 
built.  Farmers  in  these  counties  have  no  trouble  in  taking 
their  crops  to  market  at  any  time  of  the  year. 

Manufacturing. — Only  a  few  years  ago  nearly  all  the 
cotton  raised  in  North  Carolina  was  shipped  away  to  New 


"SINCE  THE   WAR."— II.  167 

England  or  across  the  ocean  to  England,  to  be  made  into 
cloth.  But  since  the  war  men  have  begun  to  build  factories 
and  mills  in  North  Carolina,  and  now  all  of  our  cotton  can  be 
made  into  cloth  here  at  home.  Nearly  everywhere  we  turn 
we  see  the  tall  black  chimneys  of  cotton  factories,  and  hear 
the  humming  of  their  looms  ;  cotton  mills  stand  on  many 
river  banks.  These  mills  and  factories  give  work  to  thousands 
of  people,  and  have  done  much  to  change  such  places  as 
Raleigh,  Charlotte,  Greensboro,  and  Gastonia  from  sleepy 
little  villages  into  busy  cities. 

"Since  the  war"  North  Carolina  has  become  one  of 
the  leading  states  in  the  manufacture  of  tobacco  also. 
Winston  and  Durham  are  known  all  over  the  world  for  their 
great  tobacco  factories. 

Furniture  factories,  too,  are  scattered  all  through  the 
central  part  of  the  state,  and  there  are  many  thriving  towns 
that  have  been  built  by  this  industry.  High  Point,  just  a 
few  years  ago  only  a  railway  station,  is  now  one  of  the  largest 
markets  for  the  making  of  furniture  in  the  United  States. 

There  are  many  other  kinds  of  factories  and  mills  that 
are  fast  turning  North  Carolina  into  a  manufacturing  state. 

Railroads. — We  cannot  have  great  factories  unless  we 
have  some  way  to  get  the  products  to  people  who  want  to 
buy  them.  So  hand  in  hand  with  the  growth  of  factories 
in  North  Carolina  has  gone  the  building  of  railroads.  We 
have  seen  how  the  people  had  just  begun  to  build  railroads 
when  the  war  began.  At  that  time  there  were  only  937 
miles  of  railroad  in  North  Carolina.     During-  the  war  the 


168  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

work  had  to  stop,  but  "  since  the  war  "  it  has  been  pushed 
still  more  rapidly.  Railroads  now  go  into  every  part  of  the 
state,  connecting  the  towns  of  North  Carolina  with  all  the 
great  cities  of  the  United  Slates.  There  arc  now  nearly 
4,000  miles  of  railroads  in  North  Carolina. 

"Western  North  Carolina. — We  have  seen  how  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  had  been  settled  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years  before  any  white  men  moved  across  the 
mountains.  The  mountain  region  has  been  the  last  part  of 
the  state  to  be  settled,  because  it  was  hard  to  get  to.  But 
since  railroads  have  been  built  through  this  part  of  the 
state,  it  has  grown  rapidly.  The  mountains  of  North  Caro- 
lina have  become  famous  for  beautiful  scenery  and  fine 
climate.  Some  of  the  grandest  scenery  in  the  world  is 
found  there.  People  go  to  these  mountains  for  their 
health  from  all  over  the  world.  Asheville,  Waynesville, 
Toxaway,  and  other  places  have  become  noted  summer 
resorts.  All  through  the  beautiful  valleys  of  the  Swannanoa, 
the  French  Broad,  the  Pigeon  and  other  rivers,  are  splendid 
homes  and  fine  farms.  No  other  part  of  North  Carolina 
has  made  more  progress  "  since  the  war." 

The  End. — We  have  now  reached  the  end  of  this  story. 
Many  long  years  have  passed  since  the  first  white  man 
landed  on  Roanoke  Island ;  since  the  first  rude  hut  was 
built;  and  since  the  first  white  child  was  born.  From 
Roanoke  Island  the  white  man  has  gone  farther  and  farther 
inland  until  he  has  crossed  the  mountain-wall  on  the  west, 
clearing  forests,  tilling  the  soil,  and  building  towns  and  cities 


"SINCE  THE  WAR."— II.  169 

as  he  went.  The  first  rude  hut  has  long  ago  disappeared, 
but  in  its  place  are  thousands  of  beautiful  residences  and 
comfortable  homes.  Millions  of  babies  have  been  born 
to  bless  the  land  since  Virginia  Dare  was  lost  in  the  vast 
woods.  A  great  wilderness  has  been  changed  into  a  great 
civilized  state.  This  was  the  work  of  our  forefathers,  who 
gave  their  lives  and  fortunes  that  we  might  have  homes  of 
peace  and  love  and  happiness.  The  story  that  we  have  read 
is  their  story.  Brave  men  and  noble  women  they  were,  and 
a  good  old  state  they  made  for  us.  Let  us  love  it,  and  work 
for  it,  and,  if  need  be,  give  our  lives  for  it,  that  we  may  be 
worthy  children  of  "  The  Old  North  State." 

GEOGRAPHY  LESSON.— How  can  one  go  from  New  Bern  to  Chapel 
Hill  ?  Wilmington  to  Chapel  Hill  ?  Asheville  to  Chapel  Hill  ?  Char- 
lotte to  Chapel  Hill?  Edenton  to  Chapel  Hill?  Find  Oxford,  Chadbourn, 
High  Point,  Gastonia,  Winston,  Waynesville,  Toxaway,  the  Swannanoa 
River,  French  Broad  River,  Pigeon  Biver. 

REVIEW.— 

1.  Tell  about  the  work  of  the  public  schools. 

2.  What  change  was  made  in  the  constitution  in  1900?     How 
did  this  help  the  public  schools  ? 

3.  Who  is  called  the  "  Childrens1  Governor"?     What  else  is  he 
called,  and  why? 

4.  How   have    the    other  schools  and  colleges    prospered   since 
the  war? 

5.  How  are  orphans  cared  for  in  North  Carolina  ? 

6.  Tell  about  newspapers  and  libraries  in  the  state. 

7.  What  is  being  done  for  the  education  of  negroes? 

8.  What   improvements   have   been   made    in    agriculture  ?     In 
roads?     In  manufacturing?    In  railroads? 

9.  Tell  about  western  North  Carolina. 


HISTORY  IN  THE  NAMES  OF  THE  COUNTIES  OF  NORTH 
CAROLINA.* 

Alamance,  formed  in  1849  from  Orange.  The  name  of  the  county  is 
derived  from  Alamance  Creek  on  the  banks  of  which  was  fought 
the  battle  between  Governor  Tryon  and  the  Regulators.  It>  is 
the  name  of  an  Indian  tribe  which  dwelt  in  that  locality. 

Alexander,  formed  in  1847  from  Iredell,  Caldwell,  and  Wilkes. 
Named  in  honor  of  William  J.  Alexander  of  Mecklenburg  county, 
several  times  a  member  of  the  legislature  and  speaker  of  the 
house  of  commons. 

Alleghany,  formed  in  1859  from  Ashe.  Name  derived  from  an  Indian 
tribe  in  the  limits  of  North  Carolina. 

Anson,  formed  in  1749  from  Bladen.  Named  in  honor  of  George, 
Lord  Anson,  a  celebrated  English  admiral  who  circumnavigated 
the  globe.  He  lived  for  a  while  on  the  Pedee  in  South  Carolina. 
In  1761  he  was  given  the  honor  of  bringing  to  her  marriage  with 
King  George  III.,  Charlotte,  princess  of  Mecklenburg,  for  whom 
Mecklenburg  county  was  named. 

Ashe,  formed  in  1799  from  Wilkes.  Named  in  honor  of  Samuel  Ashe 
of  New  Hanover,  brother  of  General  John  Ashe.  Samuel  Ashe 
was  a  Revolutionary  patriot,  one  of  the  first  judges  of  the  state, 
and  afterwards  governor. 

Beaufort,  formed  in  1705  from  Bath.f  Named  in  honor  of  Henry, 
Duke  of  Beaufort,  who  in  1728  was  one  of  the  lords  proprietors 
of  Carolina.     He  purchased  the  share  of  the  Duke  of  Albemarle. 

Bertie,  formed  in  1722  from  Bath.  Named  in  honor  of  James  and 
Henry  Bertie,  lords  proprietors  who  in  1728  owned  the  share  of 
Lord  Clarendon. 

Bladen,  formed  in  1734  from  Bath.  Named  in  honor  of  Martin 
Bladen,  one  of  the  members  of  the  board  of  trade  which  had 
charge  of  colonial   affairs. 

*  "  The  Names  of  the  Counties  of  North  Carolina  and  the  History 
Involved  in  Them,"  by  Kemp  P.  Battle.  William  A.  Blair,  publisher, 
Winston,  N.  C,  1888. 

f  Bath  county  was  formed  in  1696  out  of  territory  bordering 
on  Pamlico  Sound  and  extending  southward  to  the  Cape  Fear  river. 
It  was  at  first  divided  into  "  precincts,"  which  in  1738  became 
"  counties." 

171 


172  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Brunswick,  formed  in  17(54  from  New  Hanover  and  Bladen.  Named 
in  honor  of  the  famous  House  of  Brunswick  of  which  the  four 
King  Georges  of  England  were  members.  It  was  named  at  the 
time  of  the  marriage  of  Princess  Augusta,  daughter  of  King 
George  II.,  to  Frederick  William,  Duke  of  Brunswick. 

Buncombe,  formed  in  1791  from  Burke  and  Rutherford.  Named  in 
honor  of  Colonel  Edward  Buncombe,  a  Revolutionary  soldier  who 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Germantown,  near  Philadelphia. 
Colonel  Buncombe  lived  in  Tyrrell  county.  He  was  noted  for 
his  hospitality.     Over  the  door  of  his  house  were  these  lines: 

"To  Buncombe  Hall, 
Welcome  All." 

Burke,  formed  in  1777  from  Rowan.  Named  in  honor  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Burke,  member  of  the  continental  congress  and  governor  of 
North   Carolina. 

Cabarrus,  formed  in  1792  from  Mecklenburg.  Named  in  honor  of 
Stephen  Cabarrus,  of  Edenton,  several  times  a  member  of  the 
legislature  and  often  speaker  of  the  house  of  commons. 

Caldwell,  formed  in  1841  from  Burke  and  Wilkes.  Named  in  honor 
of  Rev,  Dr.  Joseph  Caldwell,  the  first  president  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina.  He  was  one  of  the  first  and  strongest  advo- 
cates of  the  public  school  system  and*  of  the  railroad  through  the 
center  of  the  state  from  Morehead  City  to  Tennessee. 

Camden,  formed  in  1777  from  Pasquotank.  Named  in  honor  of  the 
learned  Englishman,  Charles  Pratt,  Earl  of  Camden,  who  was  one 
of  the  strongest  friends  of  the  Americans  in  the  British  parlia- 
ment. He  took  their  side  in  the  dispute  over  taxation  without 
representation. 

Carteret,  formed  in  1722  from  Bath.  Named  in  honor  of  Sir  John  Car- 
teret, afterwards  Earl  Granville,  one  of  the  lords  proprietors. 
When  the  other  lords  proprietors  sold  their  shares  to  the  king  in 
1728,  Carteret  refused  to  sell,  and  an  immense  tract  of  land  in 
North  Carolina  was  laid  off  as  his  share  in  1744.  It  was  called 
the  Granville  District  and  was  the  cause  of  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 
He  lost  it  when  the  Revolution  freed  North  Carolina  from  British 
rule. 

Caswell,  formed  in  1777  from  Orange  and  named  in  honor  of  Richard 
Caswell.  (A  sketch  of  Caswell  appears  in  another  place  in  this 
little  book.) 

Catawba,  formed  in  1842  from  Lincoln.  Named  after  a  tribe  of 
Indians  which  dwelt  in  that  section  of  the  state. 


NAMES  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  173 

Chatham,  formed  in  1770  from  Orange.  Xamed  in  honor  of  the  great 
Englishman  who  won  for  England  all  of  French  America  and 
was  the  most  eloquent  defender  of  the  American  cause  in  the 
British  parliament  during  the  Revolution — William  Pitt,  Earl 
of    Chatham. 

Cherokee,  formed  in  1839  from  Macon.  Xamed  after  an  Indian  tribe 
which  still  dwells  in  that  section  of  the  state. 

Chowan,  formed  in  1672  from  Albemarle."  Xamed  for  an  Indian  tribe 
dwelling  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  state  when  the  English 
first  came  to  Xorth  Carolina. 

Clay,  formed  in  1861  from  Cherokee.  Xamed  in  honor  of  the  great 
orator  and  statesman,  Henry  Clay. 

Cleveland,  formed  in  184T  from  Rutherford  and  Lincoln.  Xamed  in 
honor  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Cleveland,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the 
battle  of  King's  Mountain.  Colonel  Cleveland  was  one  of  the 
best  partisan  officers  brought  forward  by  the  Revolution.  He 
weighed  over  four  hundred  pounds  and  was  nicknamed  "  Old 
Round-about  Cleveland."     He  was  very  popular  with  his  soldiers. 

Columbus,  formed  in  1808  from  Bladen  and  Brunswick.  Xamed  in 
honor  of  the  Discoverer  of  the  Xew  World. 

Craven,  formed  in  1712  from  Bath.  Xamed  in  honor  of  William, 
Lord  Craven,  one  of  tha  lords  proprietors  of  Carolina. 

Cumberland,  formed  in  1754  from  Bladen.  Xamed  in  honor  of  William 
Augustus,  Duke  of  Cumberland,  second  son  of  King  George  II. 
Cumberland  was  the  commander  of  the  English  army  at  the  battle 
of  Culloden  in  which  the  Scotch  Highlanders  were  so  badly 
defeated.  Many  of  them  came  to  America,  and  their  principal 
settlement  was  at  Cross  Creek  in  Cumberland  county. 

Currituck,  formed  in  1672  from  Albemarle.  Xamed  after  an  Indian 
tribe. 

Dare,  formed  in  1870  from  Currituck,  Tyrrell  and  Hyde.  Xamed  in 
honor  of  Virginia  Dare,  the  first  English  child  born,  in  America. 

Davidson,  formed  in  1822  from  Rowan.  Xamed  in  honor  of  General 
William  L.  Davidson,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  who  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Cowan's  Ford.  When  General  Greene  retreated 
across    Xorth    Carolina    before    Cornwallis    in    1781,    he    stationed 


*  Albemarle  county  was  the  first  county  in  Xorth  Carolina.  It 
was  divided  into  '*  precincts,"  which  in  1738  became  "  counties,"  and 
"  Albemarle "  county  disappeared  from  the  map.  For  a  long  time 
the  governors  of  Xorth  Carolina  were  called  "  governors  of  Albemarle," 


174  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

some  troops  under  General  Davidson  at  Cowan's  Ford  over  the 
Catawba  river  to  delay  the  British  army.  The  British  attacked 
the  Americans,  killed  General  Davidson,  and  forced  the  passage. 
The  United  States  has  erected  a  monument  in  his  honor  on  Guil- 
ford Battle-ground. 

Davie,  formed  in  1836  from  Rowan.  Named  in  honor  of  William  R. 
Davie.  (A  sketch  of  Governor  Davie  appears  at  another  place 
in  this  little  book. ) 

Duplin,  formed  in  1749  from  New  Hanover.  Named  in  honor  of 
George   Henry,   Lord   Duplin,   an  English   nobleman. 

Durham,  formed  in  1881  from  Orange  and  Wake.  Named  after  the 
town   of  Durham,   a   thriving  manufacturing  city. 

Edgecombe,  formed  in  1732  from  Bath.  Named  in  honor  of  Sir 
Richard,  Baron  Edgecombe,  an  English  nobleman,  and  a  lord 
of  the  treasury. 

Forsyth,  formed  in  1849  from  Stokes.  Named  in  honor  of  Captain 
Benjamin  Forsyth,  of  Stokes  county,  who  in  the  War  of  1812 
raised  a  company  of  riflemen  and  marched  to  Canada,  where  he 
was  killed  in  battle. 

Franklin,  formed  in  1779  from  Bute.*  Named  in  honor  of  the  great 
philosopher  and  statesman,  Benjamin  Franklin. 

Gaston,  formed  in  1846  from  Lincoln.  Named  in  honor  of  Judge 
William  Gaston,  one  of  North  Carolina's  greatest  judges. 

Gates,  formed  in  1779  from  Hertford.  Named  in  honor  of  General 
Horatio  Gates,  who  commanded  the  American  army  at  the  battle 
of  Saratoga.  At  this  battle  an  entire  British  army  was  captured, 
but  General  Gates  contributed  nothing  to  that  success.  It  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  battles  in  the  history  of 
the  world. 

Graham,  formed  in  1872  from  Cherokee.  Named  in  honor  of  Governor 
William  A.  Graham,  governor  of  North  Carolina,  United  States 
senator,  secretary  of  the  United  States  navy,  and  Confederate 
States  senator. 


'"'  Bute  county  was  formed  from  Granville  and  named  in  honor  of 
John,  Earl  of  Bute,  the  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  and  one  of  George 
III.'s  trusted  advisers.  He  was  so  hostile  to  the  American  colonies 
that  Bute  county  was  abolished  and  divided  into  Franklin  and  Warren 
counties. 


NAMES  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  175 

Granville,  formed  in  1746  from  Edgecombe.  Named  in  honor  of  Car- 
teret, Earl  of  Granville,  who  owned  the  Granville  District.  He 
was  prime  minister  under  King  George  II.  and  a  very  brilliant 
man. 

Greene,  formed  in  1799  from  Glasgow*  and  Craven.  Named  in  honor 
of  General  Nathanael  Greene,  Washington's  "  right-hand  man." 
Next  to  Washington  General  Greene  is  regarded  as  the  greatest 
soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He  fought  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court 
House  and  saved  North  Carolina  from  the  British. 

Guilford,  formed  in  1770  from  Rowan  and  Orange.  Named  in  honor 
of  Francis,  Earl  of  Guilford,  an  English  nobleman.  He  was  the 
father  of  Lord  North,  who  was  prime  minister  under  King 
George  III.  during  the  Revolution.  Lord  North  afterwards  became 
Earl   of  Guilford. 

Halifax,  formed  in  1758  from  Edgecombe.  Named  in  honor  of  George, 
Earl  of  Halifax,  president  of  the  board  of  trade,  which  had 
control  of  the  colonies  before  the  Revolution. 

Harnett,  formed  in  1855  from  Cumberland.  Named  in  honor  of 
Cornelius  Harnett,  "  the  Pride  of  the  Cape  Fear,'"  the  "  Samuel 
Adams  of  North  Carolina."  (A  sketch  of  him  appears  in  another 
place  in  this  book. ) 

Haywood,  formed  in  1808  from  Buncombe.  Named  in  honor  of  John 
Haywood,  who  for  forty  years  was  the  popular  treasurer  of  the 
state. 

Henderson,  formed  in  1S38  from  Buncombe.  Named  in  honor  of 
Leonard  Henderson,  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  North 
Carolina,  and  his  brother,  Archibald  Henderson,  a  member  of 
congress  and  a  very  able  lawyer. 

Hertford,  formed  in  1759  from  Chowan,  Bertie,  and  Northampton. 
Named  in  honor  of  Francis  Seymour  Conway,  Earl  of  Hertford,  an 
English  nobleman.  He  was  a  brother  of  General  Conway,  a 
distinguished  British  soldier  and  member  of  Parliament,  who 
favored  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act.  The  word  Hertford  is  said 
to  mean  "  Red   Ford." 


*  Glasgow  county  was  named  in  honor  of  James  Glasgow,  the 
first  secretary  of  state  after  1776.  He  had  been  a  prominent  patriot 
during  the  Revolution,  but  while  secretary  of  state  was  convicted 
of  fraud  in  issuing  land  grants  in  Tennessee,  and  his  name  was 
expunged  from  the  map. 


176  THE   OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Hyde,  formed  in  1705  from  Bath.  Called  Wickham  until  about  1712. 
Named  Hyde  in  honor  of  Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of  Clarendon,  one 
of  the  lords  proprietors. 

Iredell,  formed  in  1788  from  Rowan.  Named  in  honor  of  James 
Iredell,  of  Edenton.  James  Iredell  was  one  of  the  foremost  law- 
yers of  the  state.  In  1788  and  1789  he  was  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  state  in  advocating  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  His  speeches  in  the  convention  of  1788  at  Hills- 
boro  were  among  the  ablest  delivered  by  any  of  the  advocates 
of  the  constitution.  Washington  appointed  him  in  1700  a  judge 
of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

Jackson,  formed  in  1851  from  Haywood  and  Macon.  Named  in  honor 
of  Andrew  Jackson,  who  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  county,  won  the 
brilliant  victory  over  the  British  at  New  Orleans,  in  1815,  and 
was  twice  elected  president  of  the  United  States. 

Johnston,  formed  in  1746  from  Craven.  Afterwards  parts  of  Duplin 
and  Orange  were  added.  Named  in  honor  of  Gabriel  Johnston, 
governor  of  North  Carolina  from  1734  to  1752. 

Jones,  formed  in  1779  from  Craven.  Named  in  honor  of  Willie 
Jones,  of  Halifax.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  patriots  of  the 
Revolution,  was  president  of  the  council  of  safety,  and  was 
opposed  to  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 
It  was  due  to  his  influence  that  the  convention  of  1788  rejected  it. 

Lenoir,  formed  in  1791  from  Dobbs  *  and  Craven.  Named  in  honor 
of  General  William  Lenoir,  one  of  the  heroes  of  King's  Mountain. 

Lincoln,  formed  in  1779  from  Tryon.f  Named  in  honor  of  General 
Benjamin  Lincoln,  a  distinguished  general  of  the  Revolution, 
whom  Washington  appointed  to  receive  the  sword  of  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  at  the  surrender  at  Yorktown. 

Macon,  formed  in  1828  from  Haywood.  Named  in  honor  of  Nathaniel 
Macon.  (A  sketch  of  Nathaniel  Macon  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
book. ) 

Madison,  formed  in  1851  from  Buncombe  and  Yancey.  Named  in 
honor  of  James  Madison,  fourth  president  of  the  United  States. 

*  Dobbs  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Arthur  Dobbs,  one  of  the 
royal  governors  of  North  Carolina.  In  1791  the  county  was  divided 
into  Lenoir  and  Glasgow,  and  the  name  of  Dobbs  was  erased  from  the 
map. 

f  Named  for  Governor  William  Tryon,  who  defeated  the  Regula- 
tors.    Afterwards  abolished, 


NAMES  O'F  THE  COUNTIES.  177 

Martin,  formed  in  1774  from  Halifax  and  Tyrrell.  Named  in  honor 
of  Josiah  Martin,  the  last  royal  governor  of  Xorth  Carolina.  It 
is  probable  that  this  name  would  have  been  changed  like  that  of 
Dobbs  and  Tryon  but  for  the  popularity  of  Alexander  Martin, 
who  was  governor  in  1782  and  again  in  1790. 

McDowell,  formed  in  1842  from  Rutherford  and  Burke.  Xamed  in 
honor  of  Colonel  Joseph  McDowell,  an  active  officer  of  the  Revo- 
lution. 

Mecklenburg,  formed  in  1762  from  Anson.  Xamed  in  honor  of  the 
marriage  of  Princess  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg  to  George  III., 
king  of  England.  The  county  seat,  Charlotte,  one  of  the  prettiest 
cities  in  the  state,  was  also  named  in  her  honor.  Mecklenburg 
county  was  the  scene  of  some  of  the  most  stirring  events  of  the 
Revolution. 

Mitchell,  formed  in  1861  from  Yancey,  Watauga,  Caldwell,  Burke  and 
McDowell.  Xamed  in  honor  of  Rev.  Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell,  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  University  of  Xorth  Carolina.  While  on  an  explor- 
ing expedition  on  Mt.  Mitchell,  the  highest  mountain  peak 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  was  named  in  his  honor, 
Dr.  Mitchell  fell  from  a  high  peak  and  was  killed.  He  lies 
buried  on  the  top  of  this  lofty  mountain. 

Montgomery,  formed  in  1779  from  Anson.  Xamed  in  honor  of  the 
brave  General  Richard  Montgomery,  who  lost  his  life  at  the  battle 
of  Quebec  in  1775  while  trying  to  conquer  Canada. 

Moore,  formed  in  1784  from  Cumberland.  Xamed  in  honor  of  Captain 
Alfred  Moore,  of  Brunswick,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and 
afterwards  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

Nash,  formed  in  1777  from  Edgecombe.  Xamed  in  honor  of  General 
Francis  Xash,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  who  was  killed  while 
fighting  under  Washington  at  Germantown.  The  United  States 
has  erected  a  monument  in  his  honor  at  the  Guilford  Battle-ground 
near  Greensboro. 

New  Hanover,  formed  in  1729  from  Bath.  Xamed  after  Hanover, 
a  country  in  Europe  whose  ruler  became  king  of  England  with 
the   title   of   George   I. 

Northampton,  formed  in  1741  from  Bertie.  Xamed  in  honor  of 
George,  Earl  of  Xorthampton,  an  English  nobleman.  His  son, 
Spencer  Compton,  Earl  of  Wilmington,  was  high  in  office  when 
Gabriel  Johnston  was  governor  of  Xorth  Carolina  and  had  the 
town  of  Wilmington  named  in  his  honor. 
12 


178  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Onslow,  formed  in  1734  from  Bath.  Named  in  honor  of  Arthur 
Onslow,  for  more  than  thirty  years  speaker  of  the  house  of 
commons  in  the  British  parliament. 

Orange,  formed  in  1752  from  Granville,  Johnston  and  Bladen. 
Named  in  honor  of  William  of  Orange,  who  became  King  William 
III.  of  England.  He  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  kings  of 
England  and  saved  the  English  people  from  the  tyranny  of  James 
II.  His  name  is  held  in  honor  wherever  English  liberty  is 
enjoyed. 

Pamlico,  formed  in  1872  from  Craven  and  Beaufort.  Named  after 
the  sound  of  the  same  name  which  was  the  name  of  a  tribe  of 
Indians  in  eastern  North  Carolina. 

Pasquotank,  formed  in  1072  from  Albemarle.  Named  for  a  tribe  of 
Indians    in    eastern    Carolina. 

Pender,  formed  in  1875  from  New  Hanover.  Named  in  honor  of 
General  William  D.  Pender,  a  brave  Confederate  soldier  who  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  The  last  order  ever  given 
by  the  famous  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson  on  the  battlefield  was  given 
to  General  Pender :  "  You  must  hold  your  ground.  General  Pen- 
der, you  must  hold  your  ground,"  he  cried  as  he  was  carried 
off  the  field  to  die.     General  Pender  held  his  ground. 

Perquimans,  formed  in  1672  from  Albemarle.  Named  after  a  tribe 
of  Indians. 

Person,  formed  in  1791  from  Caswell.  Named  in  honor  of  General 
Thomas  Person,  Bevolutionary  patriot,  member  of  the  council  of 
safety,  and  trustee  of  the  University.  He  gave  a  large  sum 
of  money  to  the  University,  and  a  building  was  erected  in  his 
honor    called    Person    Hall. 

Pitt,  formed  in  1760  from  Beaufort.  Named  in  honor  of  William 
Pitt.      (See  Chatham.) 

Polk,  formed  in  1855  from  Rutherford  and  Henderson.  Named  in 
honor  of  Colonel  William  Polk,  "who  rendered  distinguished 
services  in  the  battles  of  Germantown,  Brandywine  and  Eutaw, 
in  all  of  which  he  was  wounded!  " 

Eandolph,  formed  in  1779  from  Guilford.  Named  in  honor  of  Pey- 
ton Randolph,  of  Virginia,  the  president  of  the  first  continental 
congress. 

Richmond,  formed  in  1779  from  Anson.  Named  in  honor  of  Charles 
Lennox,  Duke  of  Richmond,  principal  secretary  of  state  in  William 
Pitt's  second  administration.  He  was  a  strong  friend  of  the 
American  colonies  and  made  the  motion  in  the  house  of  lords 
that  they  be  granted  their  independence. 


NAMES  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  179 

Hobeson,  formed  in  1780  from  Bladen.  Named  in  honor  of  Colonel 
Thomas  Robeson,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  one  of 
the  leaders  at  the  battle  of  Elizabethtown,  which  was  fought  in 
September,  1781.  By  this  battle  the  Tories  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  state  were  crushed  forever.  The  commander  of  the 
Whigs  was   Colonel   Thomas   Brown. 

Hockingham,  formed  in  1785  from  Guilford.  Named  in  honor  of 
Charles  Wentworth,  Marquis  of  Rockingham,  who  was  the  leader 
of  the  party  in  the  British  parliament  that  advocated  American 
independence.  He  was  prime  minister  when  the  stamp  act  was 
repealed. 

Howan,  formed  in  1753  from  Anson.  Named  in  honor  of  Matthew 
Rowan,  a  prominent  leader  before  the  Revolution,  and  for  a  short 
time  after  the  death  of  Governor  Gabriel  Johnston,  acting 
governor. 

Rutherford,  formed  in  1779  from  Tryon  and  Burke.  Named  in  honor 
of  General  Griffith  Rutherford,  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 
Revolutionary  patriots.  He  led  the  expedition  that  crushed  the 
Cherokees  in  1776,  and  rendered  other  important  service  both  in 
the  legislature  and  on  the  battlefield. 

Sampson,  formed  in  1784  from  Duplin  and  New  Hanover.  Named  in 
honor  of  Colonel  John  Sampson,  who  was  a  member  of  Governor 
Martin's    council. 

Scotland,  formed  in  1S99  from  Richmond.  Named  after  the  country 
of  Scotland,  the  northern  part  of  the  island  of  Great  Britain. 
Most  of  the  people  of  this  county  are  descendants  of  Scotch  High- 
landers. 

Stanly,  formed  in  1841  from  Montgomery.  Named  in  honor  of  John 
Stanly,  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  legislature,  and  several 
times    speaker   of    the    house    of    commons. 

Stokes,  formed  in  1789  from  Surry.  Named  in  honor  of  Colonel 
John  Stokes,  a  brave  soldier  of  the  Revolution  who  was  desper- 
ately wounded  at  the  Waxhaw  Massacre  when  Colonel  Buford's 
regiment  was  cut  to  pieces  by  Tarleton.  After  the  war  Wash- 
ington appointed  him  a  judge  of  the  United  States  court  in  North 
Carolina. 

Surry,  formed  in  1771  from  Rowan.  Named  in  honor  of  Lord  Surry, 
a  prominent  member  of  parliament  who  opposed  the  taxation 
of  the  American  colonies  by  parliament. 

Swain,  formed  in  1871  from  Jackson  and  Macon.  Named  in  honor 
of  David  L.  Swain,  governor  of  North  Carolina  and  president  of 
the   University. 


180  THE  OLD  NORTH  STATE. 

Transylvania,  formed  in  18G1  from  Henderson  and  Jackson.  Name 
derived  from  two  Latin  words,  "  trans,"  across,  "  sylva,"  woods. 

Tyrrell,  formed  in  1729  from  Albemarle.  Named  in  honor  of  Sir 
John  Tyrrell,  who  at  one  time  was  one  of  the  lords  proprietors. 

Union,  formed  in  1842  from  Anson  and  Mecklenburg. 

Vance,  formed  in  1881  from  Granville,  Warren  and  Franklin.  Named 
in  honor  of  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  "  the  Great  War  Governor." 

Wake,  formed  in  1770  from  Johnston,  Cumberland  and  Orange. 
Named  in  honor  of  Governor  Tryon's  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Wake.  Some  historians  say  that  the  county  was  named 
for  "  Esther  Wake,  the  popular  sister  of  Tryon's  wife,"  but  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  such  person  ever  existed.  She 
is   purely  a   creature  of   the   imagination. 

Warren,  formed  in  1779  from  Bute  and  Granville.  Named  in  honor 
of  General  Joseph  Warren,  a  brave  Massachusetts  soldier  who 
fell  while  fighting  at  the  battle  of  Bunker   Hill. 

Washington,  formed  in  1799  from  Tyrrell.  Named  in  honor  of  George 
Washington. 

Watauga,  formed  in  1849  from  Ashe,  Wilkes,  Caldwell  and  Yancey. 
Named   after   an   Indian   tribe. 

Wayne,  formed  in  1779  from  Dobbs  and  Craven.  Named  in  honor 
of  General  Anthony  Wayne,  one  of  Washington's  most  trusted 
soldiers.  His  courage  was  so  great  as  to  amount  almost  to  rash- 
ness, and  his  soldiers  called  him  "  Mad  Anthony  Wayne." 

Wilkes,  formed  in  1777  from  Surry  and  Burke.  Named  in  honor 
of  John  Wilkes.  Wilkes  was  a  violent  opponent  of  the  Tory 
party  in  England,  and  they  would  not  let  him  take  his  seat  in 
parliament  to  which  he  had  been  elected.  The  Americans  imag- 
ined he  was  suffering  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  named  the  county 
in    his    honor. 

Wilson,  formed  in  1855  from  Edgecombe,  Nash,  Johnston,  and  Wayne. 
Named  in  honor  of  Louis  D.  Wilson,  many  times  a  member  of 
the  legislature  from  Edgecombe  county,  a  soldier  of  the  Mexican 
War,  and  the  benefactor  of  the  poor  of  his  native  county. 

Yadkin,  formed  in  1850  from  Surry.  Name  derived  from  the  name 
of  the  Yadkin  river  which  runs  through  it.  It  is  supposed  to 
be   an   Indian   name. 

Yancey,  formed  in  1833  from  Burke  and  Buncombe.  Named  in  honor 
of  Bartlett  Yancey,  an  eloquent  orator,  many  times  a  member 
of  the  legislature,  speaker  of  the  state  senate,  and  a  member  of 
congress. 


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